Transcripts For CSPAN3 U.S. Commission On International Religious Freedom On Anti-Semitism 20240713

He met to learn abandon trends across the globe and hear about possible solutions. Please come in and take your seats. We are ready to begin our hearing. Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for attending todays hearing on global efforts to counter antisemitism. I would like to this our distinguished witnesses for joining us to offer their expertise and recommendations and i would also like to thank senator manchin and his office for securing this room for us today. The International Commission on religious freedom is an independent bipartisan u. S. Government advisory body created by the 1998 religious freedom act. Or irfa. The commission monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad, using International Standards to do so. And we then make recommendations, policy recommendations to congress, to the president of the United States, and to the secretary of state. Today as were gathered here for this hearing, ucerf is exercising its Statutory Authority under the law to convene this hearing. Were also very grateful to have with us this afternoon senator jackie rosen of nevada. Senator rosen is a tireless advocate working to confront antisemitism in all of its forms. And she is also the cochair of the Senate Bipartisan task force for combatting antisemitism. Senator rosen, thank you very much for being here today with us, for your commitment to the issue, and the floor is now yours. Thank you so much for having me, for bringing everybody here today for these very, very important topics and issues which were going to talk about. Again, im thanking the u. S. Commission on International Religious freedom for holding this hearing. I thank all the participants who cannot be here today for providing their crucial insight to this important topic. Im senator jacky rosen, and i am proud to represent the great state of nevada in the United States senate. But im also incredibly proud to hold the distinction of being the third jewish woman in the United States senate and the first former synagogue president elected to the United States senate. [ applause ] you know, serving as my synagogues president and serving as a United States senator, both have been the greatest blessing of my life. And theyve been blessings that have allowed me to connect and serve my communities with the passion and commitment for the things that i not only care but but that they care about as well. And we can make progress for all our communities in the nation in the world. Right now, though, no issue threatens our progress more than the alarming rise of antisemitism in our country and around the world. Weve seen the rise of antisemitism in political movements across europe for some time now. Antisemitic groups, theyre organizing within Political Parties and places like greece and hungary and france. Weve witnessed increasing antisemitic sentiments in poland and the uk. And now this hatred has reared its ugly head here at home in our country. We only have to look at the news to see depraved individuals right here in the United States who once hid their dangerous and hateful views they feel emboldened to take violent action. We have seen all of this, and unfortunately some of us have even experienced it. In charlottesville, in synagogues in pittsburgh and poway, and most recently at a rabbis home, celebrating lighting the lights of hanukkah. Its the festival of lights, and the guests there met with terror and darkness on something that is supposed to illuminate us, the festival of lights. These are not isolated incidents. These incidents are part of a dark and dangerous trend, and we are all deeply affected by antisemitic violence, acts of hate that have left many injured and unfortunately, too many dead. We must be ready to act, to do our part to combat antisemitism. This epidemic has been on the rise. As we know. And it must be taken seriously. Antisemitism, acts of hate, they are growing at an alarming rate. Earlier this year the state department called the rise of antisemitism worse than it has been in decades. And its impacts go far beyond the Jewish Community. In their report to congress, the state department offered this warning history has shown that wherever antisemitism has gone unchecked, the persecution of others has been present or not far behind. Defeating antisemitism must be a cause of great importance, not only for jews, but for all people who value humanity and justice. Antisemitism is also a direct threat to religious freedom for all people of all faiths across the globe. Across the globe. This hate is unacceptable and its something we must come together to call out and confront head on. We can only tackle this hate if we do so together and we do so with a clear purpose. Thats why last year i helped launch the first ever Senate Bipartisan task force for combatting antisemitism. Alongside our counterparts in the house, these bipartisan groups are dedicating themselves to preventing antisemitism before it starts. Together with my cochair, james langford, and over 30 fellow senators from both sides of the aisle, 17 democrats and 17 republicans so far im working on getting all of them were working together to take on one of the most Disturbing Trends of all time. When antisemitism and bigotry occur, it is critical that we do not allow ideological or partisan thinking to blur our perspective of what is right and what is wrong, because combatting hate is always and must always stay a nonpartisan issue. As members of congress, it is our responsibility to our neighbors, to our friends, to our children to eradicate this evil. And this task force allows us to collaborate with Law Enforcement, federal agencies, state and local governments, educators, advocates, clergy, and any other stakeholders to educate, to explain, and to empower every Single Community across this nation to have the tools to combat antisemitism and all other forms of hate. Were also working with the state departments special envoy for monitoring and combatting antisemitism, ron carr who is with us today. Were going to tackle these issues in europe, in the middle east, and around the world. These are challenging times. But in great darkness, it is all the more important that we band together as a community, as a country, and as a congress, to hold up our faith and our values as a source of beacon of light that will illuminate our path forward. While it may seem that the world is in disrepair, i have unwavering faith in the capability of jews and nonjews alike to do their part to repair the world to help bet for world, to take care of one another, to promote religious freedom and to diminish hate. So our call to action is this the keep educating, keep believing and keep up the fight against hate by encouraging those around us to help repair the world, make the world a better place than how you found it. To combat bigotry for ourselves, for our children, for our future, and as we say from generation to generation, this is our call, this is what we must do, and i am proud to have started this and be partnered with all of you. Thank you. Senator rosen, thank you for being here, thank you for your work. We appreciate the time you spend with us today. And you really have set the foundation, as we have our first hearing for the year, this is the topic we chose. As we have as you will hear today from some of our expert witnesses, this is information weve been combing through. And to echo the senator, this is the issue that affects so many others. And it is, as you may hear later, the canary in the coal mine when it comes to religious persecution. And we would be negligent as a commission, as anation to ignore what is happening around us. To recognize commissioner gary bauer for an opening statement. Thank you mr. Chairman. As luck would have it, my remarks sort of build on, i think, what the senator just said, and its the reason i asked the chair if i could have a moment to express those thoughts. This is the u. S. Commission on International Religious freedom. But it seems to e theres a little bit of a challenge here that we need to confront, if were identifying antisemitic problems around the world and not squarely acknowledging whats been happening right here in the United States. We have witnessed the horror of antisemitism at the tree of life synagogue and in poway. Weve seen antisemitism grow on American University campuses. Weve watched Orthodox Jews being assaulted in the streets of new york city. Weve heard antisemitic statements right here in the halls of congress. Ive watched in horror as a christian as mainline churches have passed resolutions singling out democratic israel for special condemnation, while ignoring countries like north korea and iran and syria. And they do this in the name of my savior jesus christ. As a christian, that outrageous me. These church bureaucracies do not speak for americas christians. So, i have a humble suggestion to make, and the senator has already alluded to it. Lets not permit antisemitism to become a political football in the United States. If someone on the right engages in antisemitism, those of us on the right should aggressively confront that individual. If antisemitism comes from the progressive left, the first responsibility to deal with it comes from the leaders of the progressive movement, who should boldly get it out of their movement. If an imran somewhere in america is teaching his attendees at his mask to hate jews, then peaceloving muslims should speak up and confront him. Antisemitism a deadly virus, and it should have no home anywhere in american cultural or political life. Thank you. Thank you icommissioner baue. Now i recognize the first vice chair, commissioner manchin. Thank you, chair perkens and thank you, commissioner bauer for your words. I want to join everyone else in welcoming those of you to join us here today. We often here about this resurgence of global uptick in antisemitism and how things are looking increasingly grim for the Jewish Community, and unfortunately, 2019 was, sadly, no different. The attack on the synagogue in germany during yom kippur, the holiest day on the jewish calendar, is arguably the most jarring incident of violence against the Jewish Community abroad this year. Or last year. Were now in the new year. The gunman chose to attack on yom kippur knowing that the number of people in the building would be higher than usual on this holy day. He repeatedly shot at the clock and set off an explosive device but thankfully was unable to breach the building due to the enhanced security measures that the synagogue recently installed. The sad part is that that had to be done. In the united kingdom, several members of labour party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn have made numerous antisemitic comments and espoused conspiracy theories within its ranks. To the extent that at least seven of the Parliament Members have left the party. In february 2019, nazi symbols adorned 80 graves at a Jewish Cemetery in eastern france. In italy, police are assigned to aroundtheclock guarding of an 89yearold woman who is both a holocaust survivor and a senator in this Italian Parliament after she proposed a National Commission to battle hatred and bigotry. While a significant number of the incidents we hear about in the news have occurred in europe, this truly is a global phenomenon. In argentina, vandals desecrated a Jewish Cemetery with nazi symbols in february. And in a separate occurrence in june, three youths shouted antisemitic insults at a argentinian rabbi, hit, kicked him in the head and abdomen, threw him to the ground and trampled his hat before fleeing. In kenya, intruders attacked a rabbi and his wife during a attacked a rabbi in a Jewish Center before robbing and stealing many items from that center in april. They hurled antisemitic insults at them and stole many things. In saudi arabia, textbooks espousing vile stereotypes and hatreds against jews continue throughout to be used in schools throughout the country. And in australia, authorities recorded at least two incidents in 2019 of nazi graffiti aimed at intimidating the Jewish Community there. As you can see from just this handful of examples, unfortunately the scourge of antisemitism is alive and well in its varied and wideranging forms and manifestations. I look forward to hearing the recommendations from our witnesses on how the United States government can better address the rise in antisemitism around the world, and how the International Community with more effectively ensure the global Jewish Community can worship freely and without fear. Thank you. Thank you, vice chairman c n chair manchin. With that backdrop, i would now like to turn to our panelists. We have experts from around the globe that are with us here today, and were very grateful for the time that they have made to join us for this hearing. Weve asked them to distill their remarks to five to six minutes each because weve got a lot of area to cover. Their bios are available. I think if you didnt receive them on the way in, we have we would ask to you get a copy of that, because they are certainly experts on this topic. As vice chair manchin mentioned, we dont only want information. Our purpose here is not just to talk about the problem. Although that is a part of our mission. We want to develop the action steps. So we have asked those that are joining us today to help us in the policy recommendations that we would make. Beginning with our first panel, ahmed shah heed assumed his mandate as special rep on freedom and belief on november 1, 2016, with the united nations. We are grateful for the work that he has done. He briefed us on a report that was just recently released, which in many ways was the catalyst for the hearing were having here today, and i would recommend that report to you, although im certain dr. Shaid will give us an overview of that. Doctor shaheed, thank you very much for being with us today. Good afternoon. And thank you, distinguished vice chairs, commissioner, distinguished guests. It is an honor for me to be here this afternoon at this very important hearing. As a u. N. Special rep on freedom and beliefs, i am here to identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and to examine incidents that are compatible with the provisions that are there in the Legal Framework to protect this right, including the 1981 u. N. Declaration on all forms of intolerance and of discrimination, based on religion or belief. Consequently, four months ago, in october last year, i presented my report to the u. N. General assembly on the global phenomenon of antisemischism, its impact on the freedom of belief of the jewish persons worldwide. Report dedicated to the issue as a global phenomenon. The report was meant as a record to report to the decisionmakers about the frequency of antisemitic incidents and the pervasiveness of Antisemitic Attitudes that appear to be increasing. In several countries, there are monitors that are documented. As well as online expressions. The report noted the prevalence of Antisemitic Attitudes and the risk of violence against jewish individuals and sites around the world. At this time, i want to focus on the key recommendations that i made in this report. I argue protecting a human rights best approach to this problem because, number one, there is a strict obligation to protect which members of the community. It is not a favor. It is an entitlement. It is a right and an obligation. Thats why i argue. And second it must be based on nondiscrimination. All individuals have an obligation to defend members on that ground. Third, although we cannot the law cannot demand solidarity, human rights cannot be foolproof, so there is never a person, whenever there is a person in this attack, it is an obligation on all of us to support in support of that person, in solidarity. The key recommendations in my report include to embrace the working definition of antisemiti antisemitism, to set up an example developed by the International Holocaust alliance. This can offer valuable guidance for education including for those working in Law Enforcement. One must first know what it is trying to protect. I also argue that the primary responsibility for addressing intolerance and discrimination, and unrest rests in government. Including political representatives. As such states must foster a freedom of belief by promoting the act of members of all faithbased communities to manifest their beliefs, and to contribute openly to legal footing in society. Governments must acknowledge that antisemitism is a threat to stability and antisemitic platforms need responses from leaders. It should be based on the commission of antisemitic crimes, and require states to respond on the International Human rights law. The committee has a wider role to play in assuring that they take a Broad Coalition approach to combatting antisemitism. Experts can support governments by providing independent expert advice and insights on antisemitism. And there are effective ways. They can play an Important Role in learning about the various ways in which antisemitism can be manifested, along with the impact of prejudice messages faced by jews and jewish communities, on human rights and society at large. They can support government in efforts to raise awareness in jewish communities as to where and how to report such incidents. They must also refrain themselves from Antisemitic Attitudes. More of our social Media Companies have reports of cyber situations seriously. And enforce Community Standards and not allow for dissemination of hate messages and provide more transparency of what their efforts have been to some bat cyber hate and to offer user friendly mechanisms and procedures for reporting and addressing hateful content. We should report criminal antisemitism behavior online, to local Law Enforcement agencies including expressions that constitute discrimination, hostility, or violence. Lastly, in october, i asked the u. N. Secretary general to consider appointing a senior level person in his office, to report to him directly, with the responsibility for engaging in communities. Worldwide. To monitor antisemitism. And in response of the u. N. As a whole. I recommended that various u. N. Entities and the advice on prevention to enhance their cooperation with human rights bodies and other mechanisms to similar joint action on antisemitism and other forms of hate. For my part, i will continue to use my mandate to raise awareness and to advocate for the recommendations in my report. As i described in my report, antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine of hate. It is the first to surface and we must ensure we respond to it. The final comment is to protect the human rights, you must focus not just on protectioning but also on prevention. Thank you very much. Thank you doctor shaheed. Im sure some of our commissioners have questions. I would like to start with this question about your report, as we all know, reports and recommendations are just one step on a long journey. How is the journey going in terms of the implementation of your recommendations . How have they been received by the u. N. And associated countries . Thank you, chair. The report was very well received by the u. N. System, but i want the thank the jewish communities for supporting me in the report and also their response to the report which ensures states cannot reject that report. In december im looking forward to see how various actors will implement it. I have a report following up on the every limitation making sure the critical five steps and report back on what they have done. Its still early days but i hope to come back if two years time with a full report on what steps have been taken. Im going around to various cities, talking to governments on the point, number one, asking the u. N. Secretary general to appoint a high level on the subject. This third, embrace the definition, and forth work with unesco to combat antisemitism in textbooks and schools. Thank you. Always a pleasure to have you and were always encouraged by your enthusiasm and knowledge of these issues. You said our mandate is to make recommendations to our own government on policy, so my question to you would be, if the United States could focus on one or two things as our first steps, because you have made so many great recommendations, what would you recommend how we start . Thank you very much. I would want to focus both on the u. S. Domestic situation as well as the u. S. role as a world leader. The domestic context, i think it would be important to ensure that the reporting mechanisms are strengthened. There are reporting systems in place, because underreporting is a serious challenge and therefore continue to find ways to ensure that there is special reporting. This also means that there is a better understanding at the municipal level of what constitutes antisemitic crimes. I think that goes with that. At the global level, i would again stress the Important Role the u. S. Can cay in supports my cause to have a u. N. Appoint a focal leader to monitor antisemitism. And secondly, i also think that the u. S. Can support other states, or promote the idea of embracing the working definition. The definition is to have an example, very important, in understanding how antisemitism manifests in different ways. And unless we understood the phenomenon, we wouldnt be able to able to act against that. So these are my crucial comments. I also want to add my fourth point, the support by the u. S. , because at the present time, the u. S. Does cover globally religious freedom or human rights, globally. And in doing so, it can face the attention to how specific contexts antisemitism is manifested. One example is how the School Textbooks and the general media are disseminating those tropes. Thank you. Commissioner moore . Doctor shaheed, i should begin by telling you we hear your name all the time in our meetings with various countries. Theyre always talking about your recommendations, and the implementation of your recommendations, and so as a commission, were indebted to you for your very, very, very good work. And i also understand that youre a part of the solution and not part of the problem within this context. However, there is for me a bit of irony, when i hear that your mandate came from the u. N. Hcr, because i think it is the prevailing view of a lost us that watch these issues that the unhcr is notorious for providing a shield in aiding and abetting antisemitism through its pervasive, consistent i cant even, you cannot be hyperbolic with the antizionism within unhcr, so what is your perspective on how your responsibility has been aided or abetted by the very agency that commissioned this report . And the one thing were very cognizant about, is too often around the world, there are Public Relations statements made by governments and nonprofit organizations and agencies, in order to take heat off of problems, and one of our mandates is to make sure that the furnace is turned up and not down until theres change. And so i would like your perspective on unhcr. Thank you very much. I take it you mean the human rights council. Yes. Im not an official. My job is fulltime at a university. Im at the u. N. Probono to produce analysis around the world. It was my decision to choose this topic of antisemitism for a number of reasons. One of those is that i observed how wed failed at a mandated system. We have 58 mandates to look at issues affecting jewish communities. How many countries have we sent out and one or two or three out of thousands offered me communications. That was a scandal. The second is this mandate i hold has origins in the response to the academic 50 years ago. Thats when the u. N. Began to look at issue of intolerance buck somehow the u. N. Followed up antisemitism. To me this is bringing it back home to where it all began, a desire to challenge antisemiti antisemitism. So i understand the u. N. Is a multidimensional house, so to speak, and there are parts that are antisemitic and youre right, number 7 is a problem. Its used to support israel. Its counterproductive in many ways and also perhaps undermines the other parts of the u. N. Unesco is an example. I think theyre doing work now on education to combat antisemitism become you that work gets outdone three times a year by discussion of israel and policy. My response is we have to take a nuanced approach to the u. N. Its composed of many parts. And we should understand we can use some parts of it to advantage and we can try to contain from elsewhere, with you thats why, again, its important for the to us take the lead and have a focal point in his office which can report to him also about the overall context. But the u. N. Must step up more on making sure it speak for the Jewish Community more as well. Thank you. Doctor, thank you so much for being here today. And again we want to commend you for are your work, were grateful for it, and we appreciate what youre doing. We will transition to our second panel. Elon carr serves as a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. As a special envoy, he advises the secretary of state and is responsible for directing u. S. Policy and projects aimed at countering antisemitism throughout the world. You can look at his bio, it is very impressive and were grateful for him to be here today and look forward to your remarks. [ inaudible ]. If youll turn your okay, is that better . Good afternoon. Thank you for your important efforts in the cause of International Religious freedom and combatting antisemitism. Both Top Priorities for this administration and for holding this hearing today. Im honored to be with you. I greatly value the opportunity to discuss our work combatting antisec antisemiti antisemitism. In light of recent attacks in monsey, jersey city, germany, and too many other locations around the world, the timing of this hearing could not be more significant. Only 75 years since the nazi cremotoria have cooled, the relentless indefatiguable evil of antisemitism continues its global rise, mutating into new forms and starting with blinding speed new technologies. We have seen antisemitism, attacks both overseas and at home. The Antidefamation League recently had a survey of antisemitism attitudes that included 14 European Countries. The surveys key finding, roughly one out of every four residents of those European Countries polled by the agl, fall into the most antisemitic category, meaning that they subscribe to a majority of the antisemitism stereotypes tested in the index. We are also seeing a disturbing erosion of holocaust education. A 2018 cnn poll on european attitudes towards jews found that 34 of those surveyed said they knew just a little or never heard of the holocaust. The statistics are not much better in the United States. In last years state of the union address, President Donald Trump declared, quote, we must never ignore the vile poison of antisemitism or those who spread its venomous creed. With one voice, we must condemn this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs. Antisemitism is a barometer of human suffering. President trump calls it a vile poison because societies that have imbibed this poison have rotted to their core and produced human misery on a scale that defies description. Antisemitic hate begins with the jewish people but rarely begins there. I want to thank senator rosen for making those clear in her remarks. There are three sources for antisemitism today. The far right ethnic supremacist, the radical left antizionists and militant islamists. In our work, we do not rank or minimize these sources. All three are dangerous, and all must be combatted. If onethird of the tumor is left untreated, the patient remains in danger. We fight all forms of jew hatred regardless of the ideological clothing it wears. We are all familiar with the all too real dangers of antisemitism from the far right, the antisemitic gunmen in pittsburgh and poway wrote manifestos before the shootings, and i met with the Jewish Community in strasburg, france where neo nazis had been perpetrated antisemitic attacks on a weekly basis. We are also observing a rise in the socalled new antisemitism that cloaks itself in the language of antizionism, but there is nothing knew about the socalled new antisemitism. It is the very same hatred. This time, targeted at the jew among the countries instead of at the jew in the community. The same kinds of medieval blood libels that were leveled against jews in the past are now targeting israel, claiming that israel is perpetrating genocide and apartheid and infecting palestinian children with viruses. So too with the ageold economic boycotts, conspiracy theories, or persistent double standards now all focused on the jewish state, instead of only on a Jewish Community. When israel is demonized, delegitimized, or held on to a standard not applied to any other country in the world, that is antisemitic. Secretary of state pompeo clearly stated, quote, this bigotry is an insidious new form in the guise of antizionism. Dont get me wrong, criticizing israels policies is an acceptable thing to do in a democracy, it is what we do, but criticizing the very right of israel to exist is not acceptable, antizionism let me go on the record. The International Holocaust remembrance, working definition of antisemitism, has been a game changer. Many European Countries have adopted it and we encourage all countries to do so. The working definition identifies both traditional and contemporary forms of antisemitism. The department of state has been using it for some time, and now, with president trumps recent executive order, the United States has embraced the definition at large. With regard to israel, the working definition equates the following with antisemitism. Targeting the state of israel, conceived of as a jewish collective. Denying the jewish people their right to Self Determination. For example, by claiming that the existence of a state of israel is a racist endeavor. Applying double standards by requiring it of behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation. Using the symbols and Images Associated with classic antisemitism to characterize israel or israelis. Drawing comparisons of contemporary israeli policy to that of the nazis. Or Holding Jews Collectively responsible for the actions of the state of israel. Negligence to encouraging countries around the world to adopt and implement the definition, please allow me to share some of my Top Priorities. One, urging government to provide Adequate Security for their jewish populations and Jewish Community assets. Security must be a top priority, because when people do not feel safe, and when they do not feel that their children are safe, there is no quality of life. Two, ensuring that countries properly investigate, prosecute, and appropriately punish hate crimes,. Even misdemeanor crimes must be addressed, because these are often the best opportunities to intervene in the life of an angry and alienated youth before he turns to violence. Three, demanding that countries remove remove antisemitic content from textbooks used in their schools teaching innocent children to hate other children is mass child abuse. And it creates deep damage that is very difficult to repair. Four, confronting and condemning hate speech, particularly on social media. Let me be clear we are not speaking of restrictions on the First Amendment. Even despicable hatred can be protected speech. But we must understand that the internet has been the chief vector of this disease. And we must continue to urge leaders around to world swiftly to speak out against hate speech. Antisemitism is on the rise. And the stakes could not be higher. But i want to stress that there is much good news to be celebrated and i want to close on this. First, there are many leaders around the world who are general winly appalled by the rising antisemitism and are committed to this fight. Some are heads of government. Some are ministers. Some are parliamentarians sband some antisemitism coordinators. And one whom i want to commend today is the u. N. Special rappoteur on freedom of religion and belief whose work i have been praising around the world. Im inspired by their dedication and am convinced through our collective and coordinated efforts we can make substantial gains in our fight against antisemitism. Since my appointment nearly one year ago, i have visited ten countries, and engaged both bilaterally, and multilaterally, with foreign governments, and ive also met with jewish communities and Civil Society organization, the work of our partners around the world, has already yielded important results. The second piece of good news is that the jewish people do in fact have Self Determination in their ancestral homeland. The state of israel is successful and strong, and it is a beacon of democracy and innovation. Israels strength helps to make the jewish people strong and better able to confront antisemitism in all of its forms. Finally, the third piece of good news is that the United States is both the most powerful country, and the most phyllosemitic country in the history of the world even with recent regrettable painful, tragic events, it is still that. And now it is led by the most phyllo semitic administration we ever had. President trump and his team are committed in unprecedented fashion to combatting antisemitism, to protecting the jewish people throughout the world, and to supporting the state of israel. With committed friends and allies working together should to shoulder and arm in arm, we can turn the tide of antisemitism and bequeath to our children and grandchildren, that just and decent world that they so richly deserve. Thank you so much, and i welcome your questions. Thank you mr. Carr. Very well said. Let me ask a question before i recognize my other commissioners. You addressed some of the sources. You identified three of the sources but as a former prosecutor youre often looking for motives. We have seen this rise, theres no question, the evidence is there. In your opinion, what is behind this rise . What is the motive that is there . Yeah. So the motives are different for each of the three ideological camping. Interestingly enough, mr. Chairman, these three camps, when you think of the ethnic supremacist far right, far left, and militant islam, these are three ideological groups that should hate each other more than any other yet theyre united by their hatred of the jewish people and united by the fundamental incombatability of their values on which the United States was built and frankly on which all democracies are built. The motives might be different, but the methods are the same. Using the ent using the internet to spread hate. Facebook, twitter, im troubled to say that the dark web is dramatically worse. I just had a meeting at this literally yesterday. And you cannot believe you cannot believe what is being said when theres some veil of protection according to these people through these deep dark chat rooms. I say it this way those of us that are parents would never dream of allowing our kids to wander unescorted or even escorted in neighborhoods of crime and drugs and violence and danger, and yet every day kids are being sucked into this vortex, this venomous vortex of internet chat rooms and sites that spout hatred of jews, really of everybody, and they feed out of off this for years. Years of this. And then they become radicalized and turn towards violence. This has to be addressed because its a key component. As a former prosecutor and ive handled hate crimes we would never close a case without requiring a defendant or suspect to undergo a Tolerance Program. That means even a kid, some minor who commits a trespass or a skinhead who shoplifts a beer why would you everened that case without requiring that person to undergo a Tolerance Program . I have had the great privilege of sitting down with prosecution and Law Enforcement leaders in jersey city, new york, and now also by the way in germany i met with prosecutor in seven separate german states to coordinate our evidents and talk about dealing with hate crime, even when the conduct is very low level. Because when we intervene early in an alienated angry kids life, not only are we protecting the Jewish Community from further violence, but we are doing the best thing we can do for that young man. So this is a critical point. Commissioner bauer . Always great to see you, sir, and i commend you for the work that youre doing. I dont want to invite you to get into an area of American Foreign policy you might not tread in, to excuse me if i have been making it uncomfortable, but iran has been in the news a lot lately. Of all the other controversy, iran is the only nation im aware of that seem to have as an item for their reason of existence, the promise of a second holocaust. Theyre the only government im aware of that regularly uses Government Resources to bring tens of thousands of people into the street to chant, death to the jews or israel. And it seems to me that everything from corporations looking to invest or European Countries trying to make trade deals theres always a great deal of resistance to doing much about iran. Isnt this an example of how people give lip service to iran, but theyre not willing to call out a power thats getting more powerful. They have the threat of Nuclear Weapons some day. When antisemitism seems to be one of the core reasons they exist . Commissioner bauer. I couldnt agree with you more. Iran is not only the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism, its the leading trafficker in antisemitism. They have pushed antisemitic dogma throughout the middle east and throughout the muslim world beyond the middle east. When one looks at violence against jews in western europe, much of which comes from a radicalized Muslim Community, you have to look at iran, which is responsible for so much antisemitism. What happens in the middle east doesnt stay in the middle east. What happen in the middle east directly affects the european street and in many ways the u. S. College campus. It isnt ancillary to the republic of iran. Its a foundational component to the ideology of that regime, and we have to be clear about it and we have to confront it and call it out for what it is. You know, i have been asking our friends around the world, you know, how is it possible to talk about protecting jews and to talk about fighting antisemitism when theres a refusal to designate hezbollah a terrorist organization . If youre not willing to designate hezbollah a terrorist organization then protecting jews seems to be a goal that is not achieved. I thank you for your question and shedding light on this. Its a critical component of what iran is doing and we have to shed light on it. Thank you. Vice chairman chin. Thank you so much for your remarks and insight. I want to dig a little deeper when youre talking about the internet and that dark world. And i think across the world, even here in the United States, i think something as parents and teachers, we fear that dark underside. And as you go into this new decade, are there any ideas on how we really go about attacking in some way limiting or blocking or what are the ideas moving forward that we start combatting this force thats out there . Thank you vice chairman ch m. Its a veksing challenge. We dont want to trespass on the First Amendment certainly. Thats one of the things that makes america great, and we would never freedom of speech. How do we do this . Theres several things we can and should be doing, and i had the privilege of participating in a meeting with leading social Media Companies together with the adl. It was hosted in new york by the adl. I was part of that meeting. First of all, antisemitic speech often violates the terms of use. So we should be encouraging not sensorship, but these platforms to enforce their own terms. Why wouldnt there are terms of use. Well, they should enforce the terms of use it. Its not the government doing it, its them doing it. They claim theyre committed to doing it, so we should work with them to help them do that. Second of all, exposure. We have got to expose this venom, especially whats being trafficked in the dark web. Americans have no idea whats going on. I will tell you one piece of information that was recently uncovered and that hasnt been widely disseminated yet is that there is a campaign by, believe it or not, the neonazi far right specifically focused on innercity africanamerican communities to turn africanamericans against jews. Of course, they dont do it as neonazis, but they hide their identities and theyre putting forth materials specifically meant to poison africanamerican jewish relations. These things need to be exposed. People have to understand whats being done, how focused it is, how deliberate it is, that there are maligned actors that are actively working, utilizing the internet, for all of the good that, of course, technology has given our world, but utilizing this as a vehicle for enormous evil and great destructive power. So third of all, second of all, exposure. Third of all, incitement to violence is not protected speech by the First Amendment. We have to get very serious in enforcing that. Thats not censorship. If anything, leaves the realm of First Amendment protections, the United States should be coming down like a ton of bricks on that speech. We should say, okay, once you cross the line, thats it, we are absolutely going to, first of all, to the extent a crime is committed, prosecute that crime, but certainly, certainly, prevent it from being disseminated. That is not an encroachment on the First Amendment and thats something weve got to do. Those three things will go a long way to addressing the problem. Thank you. Commissioner moore . Do you what you said here is incredible. Youve already touched on this a bit, but do you feel like the Tech Companies in this country are utilizing the fullness of their resources to address this problem . And the reason why is because it seems as if Silicon Valley can make anything happen, right . Its the place where miracles happen. And yet anyone whos a public figure as soon as something controversial happens automatically sees all of these things. You know, i know a number of evangelical leaders across america who are the subject of iranian trolling just a couple days ago. Threats, these things are everywhere, and so you wonder, are these Tech Companies, are they really, really paying attention . Are they really, really working on this problem . My impression, and obviously, there are a lot of Tech Companies so i would never paint them with a broad brush, and Different Companies are doing Different Things and implementing different measures. My impression is that there is a growing awareness that this is a problem that has to be dealt with and that if the Tech Companies dont deal with it, the United States government may deal with. And now, again i deal with antisemitism. Im not advocating policy or legislation here. However, i think theres a growing realization in the tech world that the leadership of our country and our policymakers understand that something has to be done. And so i have Seen Real Movement here and a real willingness to take on this problem. Im very encouraged by that. So i think weve got to give it time and see, and i think weve got to work with these Tech Companies to support them and to make sure that they understand that, you know, we want to let them have the space to take care of this problem. Thats very important. I look forward to doing that. Again, we had a very productive meeting in new york with several of these very prominent companies. I look forward to going to the bay area and actually meeting with them there. Ive already had those conversations. And im encouraged by the movement were seeing. Its not sufficient, to this point, burt were moving in the right direction. Mr. Carr, thank you so much for making time to be here today. Thank you. We appreciate your testimony. Thank you to all of you for your vital work. Were going to transition to our third panel of expert witnesses. I will introduce them as they come up. Deborah lipstadt is professor of holocaust studies at Emory University in atlanta. [ applause ] we also have sharon nazarian, she is a Senior Vice President International Affairs and heads adls work on fighting antisemitism and racial hatred globally, including in europe, latin america and the middle east. And then ambassador akbar ahmed, who is the chair of islamic studies at the American University here in washington, d. C. Grateful for all of them as well as Rabbi Abraham Cooper who is the associate deal director of Global Social action agenda as well. Were glad to have him with us today as well. So we will begin with deborah making her opening comments and we will go down the line and the commissioners will have questions. Thank you. Thank you to the commission, thank you to the chair of the commission for holding this very important gathering. Recently, a welleducated accomplished man, the ceo of a fortune 500 company was present when i was giving a talk and a seminar to a small group on antisemitism. He listened intently. Not a jew. And when it came time for questions, he said to me, jews are so smart, so accomplished, how is it that they have not been able to solve this problem . His question was sincere. But i pointed out to him, kindly, that it was directed in the wrong direction. He should be asking the perpetrator. This past sunday, i marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. That was unexpected. I marched across the Brooklyn Bridge standing next to a woman who carried a sign, this catholic hates antisemitism. When i thanked her for being there, she said its more its our problem more than its your problem, and she was right, but its the victim who bleeds. Suffice it to say that antisemitism is a problem for all of us. Theres no easy solution to antisemitism because its a prejudice and prejudice is irrational. Think of the word, prejudice, prejudge, ive made up my mind, dont confuse me with the facts. We decide who and what a person is. The person may still be two blocks away, but their stereotype is in front of us. That doesnt mean that members of a particular group cant be people who do bad things, but when one person or even a small group, from a minority group, or a particular group does something wrong and then the people say, oh, theyre all like that, weve moved into the realm of prejudice. Now, while antisemitism is a prejudice and shares many of the characteristics of racism, homophobia, other prejudices, fear of muslims, it is different also. First of all, its a conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theorists find culprits to blame for something that they find threatening or bothersome. The conspiracy theorists reject logic. So if you were to explain antisemitism thor rationally of antisemitism to a conspiracy theorist, they would just blow you off. They arent interested in logic. They are prejudiced, and thats how they look at things. Secondly, antisemitism is unlike other prejudices because it comes from the right and from the left. Usually a prejudice only comes from one side, but here, this is the one place where the right and the left, the far right, the far left, however you want to describe it, exists in perfect and happy harmony. Thirdly, antisemitism is different and contrasted to racism. The racist punches down. The racist looks at the person of color, whomever they may be, whatever color they may be, and says theyre not as smart as us. Theyre not as capable as us. If their children go to our schools, there goes the school, if they move into our neighborhood, there goes the neighborhood. In contrast the antisemite, who is often a racist, punches up, the jews are more powerful, theyre smarter, theyre richer, so they not only have to be hated, they have to be feared and when you put that together with the conspiracy theory, you have a toxic brew. Simply put, antisemitism makes people stupid. It is delusional. Think about it. The antisemite says the jew is the communist. The antisemite says the jew is the rothchild, the soros, the capitalist. Last time i checked, you cant be both at the same time. The antisemite says the jews are clannish and stick together, the antisemite says the jews are pushy and always want to live in neighborhoods where theyre not wanted, be in schools and clubs and groups where theyre not wanted. Last time i checked, you cant be clannish and pushing into other groups at the same time, but thats logic, and the antisemite detests logic. Antisemitism isnt something random. Its not disliking a jew. I dislike a lot of jews. Everyone here does. Come on. You want to see disliking should come to my synagogue. Oh, theyre watching. Youre going to make me compare it with baptists. Dont do that. Afterwards, well, have you know, i would say we would have a drink, but i dont know if thats allowed. Antisemitism is not disliking a jew. It is disliking someone because they are a jew. It is persistent. It has a structure. And it has a template. You can recognize it. It began as antijudaism, but soon, as christianity differentiated itself from another religion, not something unheard of when the two religions are particularly so closely connected, but it quickly migrated out of the confines of the church, out of the confines of religion, to the opposite end of the spectrum, to carl marx who hated all religion. But if you read what he wrote about jews it sounded line the worst of an antisemitic Church Father and the nazis, the eugenicists they were all saying the same thing, left, right, center, it didnt matter. One of the most widely known antisemitic sources, easily available, youre talking about hightech, previously with special envoy carr, is the protocols of the elders of zion, easily available on amazon in many different iterations. A publication that began having nothing to do with the jews then was in the hands of czarist russia. They changed the culprit from someone else to put in jews, and it has maintained itself as a bestseller. Car magnet henry ford distributed half a million copies in the early decades of the previous century. And despite the fact that it has been exposed, its available today in french and german and arabic and an array of other languages. Holocaust denial. Holocaust denial is not only contra to history, the holocaust has the dubious distinction of being the best documented genocide in the world. For deniers to be right, who would have to be wrong . The victims . The bystanders who watch the trains going into the camps day after day or who were near the shooting sites. Thousands of historians would either have to be in on the hoax or have been duped. And the perpetrators, themselves. In not one war crimes trial since the end of world war ii, not just of germans but of anyone of any nationality as a perpetrator said it didnt happen. I didnt do it. I was only following orders. But not, it didnt happen. But what will deniers tell you . Oh, the jews did this. Why . To get reparations. A fancy word for money. Part of the antisemitic template. They forced the allies to have hearings in nuremberg, they were so powerful. Part money, power, conspiracy. The antisemitic template. As youve heard before, today we see antisemitism on the right. We see it on the left. We see it from islamic extremists. We see it from atheists. Always relying on the same things. Ultimately, as i said, i believe that on some level, and its a sad thing to say because i fight it and i write about it and i teach about it in lecture, but antisemitism can be described as a herpes disease. If you know, herpes until recently, there was no way of curing certain forms of herpes, if you had it, you were under pressure. The bride who wakes up on the morning of her wedding of a cold sore, the person who gets a outbreak of herpes before a big interview, it was always there and came out in tension. So, too, with antisemitism. It takes many different forms and it persists. What then can we do about it . Its irrational. We cant simply throw up our hands in defeat. We must understand it. Understand its history. We must call it out. Youve heard some very good suggestions from the two previous people testifying. We must challenge it. We must take it seriously. We must never let it overwhelm us. The costs of doing so are too great. And we must act now. Later will be too late. Thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you, dr. Lipstadt. Ms. Nazarian. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for holding this hearing and for inviting adl to testify today. Since 1913, adls mission has been to stop the defamation of the jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. I lead adls International Affairs division, which seeks to promote the security of jewish communities abroad, fighting antisemitism, bigotry and prejudice, and working with partners around the world using adl programs and resources regarding hate crimes, cyber hate, and antibias education. Regrettably, our work and our expertise on antisemitism and hate is more current and urgent than ever in the u. S. And around the globe. In the u. S. Our comprehensive annual audit of antisemitic incidents found that antisemitic assaults doubled in the u. S. In 2018 and the number of victims of such assaults tripled. Given the daily reports of antisemitic attacks in 2019 along with the deadly violence of jersey city, poway, and others, we know that 2019 will be one of the most violent years of antisemitic incidents we have witnessed. In addition, adl seeks to combat efforts to attack or delegitimize the jewish state and call out when such campaigns cross the line into antisemitism. In europe we urge governments to support the security of local jewish communities, to address potential threats, and to hold perpetrators of attacks fully accountable. In latin america and europe, we support communities and train students to stand up against antisemitism and extreme antiisrael slanders. And the broader middle east, we name and shame governments that enable antisemitism such as in their official textbooks. I have personal experience understanding the fear and isolation that extremists can inflict on vulnerable communities and religious minorities, having left iran as a child to flee the antisemitism oppression of khameneis dictatorship. The crisis is a core concern for religious freedom. I think one of the signs at the march that was referred to this sunday against antisemitism in new york said it best, if you need a Security Guard to practice your religion, you dont have freedom of religion. Jews are often the First Community targeted when pluralism is under threat. We have been expelled from entire countries and suffered mass atrocities of the holocaust and programs. Today, antisemitic incidents often take the form of attacks against jewish institutions or worshippers. We see bans on kosher animal slaughter or ritual circumcision that make it impossible for observant communities to remain. Jews in many European Countries and now even reportedly in brooklyn are fearful of wearing religious garb, kippahs, stars or david or other visible signs theyre jewish. Antisemitism is a powerful driver of terrorism. As we saw in buenos aires, and in paris, the terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, we have data to attest to warring trends both in terms of antisemitic incidents and public attitudes. The latest data from france shows a 76 increase in antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2019. In the uk antisemitic incidents are at their highest ever rate and in the german capital of berlin, there are on average two antisemitic incidents per day. As for attitudes, adl recently polled Public Opinion about jewish people in 18 countries where jewish populations are significant. In the 12 eu countries surveyed, as well as ukraine and russia, at least one in four respondents agreed with the majority of antisemitic stereotypes tested. Just as antisemitic incidents can affect the sense of security for Jewish Community, so do governmental and societal responses. For example, the no hate no fear solidarity march that we just referred to that adl was a cosponsor of in new york on sunday, sent a powerful signal that tens of thousands of people will stand up against antisemitism. More importantly, governments need to be engaged and proactive. Before yom kippur this year, the small Jewish Community in germany had asked for police protection. The local police did not respond so they werent there when the white supremacist opened fire. Only following that attack did the German Federal ministry of interior gather statelevel counterparts to develop a tenpoint plan against extremism. In this case this plan was simply too late. Their inaction had led to loss of life. A member of my team was in poway when the shooting took place and worked with the local Jewish Community to support those who were targeted. Adl along with the Central Welfare board of jews in germany provided funds to establish a psychological help hot line for victims and the community. You serve can be an important voice in urging governments to take proactive steps in better fighting antisemitism. Governments should be urged to provide robust Political Leadership to assure targeted communities by speaking out about manifestation of antisemitism and other scapegoating. They should utilize the International Holocaust remembrance alliance, working definition of antisemitism, to provide educational guidance, for Law Enforcement, teachers, and community leaders. Should improve public reporting on antisemitic incidents as well as other forms of hate violence and discrimination. They should ensure that governments have specific senior officials tasked with combatting antisemitism and to do the same for all forms of hate. This is a very important recommendation which we can really follow up on. They should mandate hate Crime Prevention and response training into Law Enforcement education. This is something adl does in the u. S. We are the largest trainer of Law Enforcement, fbi, homeland security. This can be done internationally. All Law Enforcement should be expected to offer hate crime training. Work closely with local jewish communities to address issues of concern including security and freedom of worship. Jewish communities are the front line and know whats going on in their communities. There should be very direct access between government and jewish communities to know what are the solutions that they need and the support they need. Ensure that School Curricula address the holocaust, modern day antisemitism, and antibias training. Many countries have laws mandating holocaust education. This should be implemented. There should be funding for that, and thats something that you could play a very Important Role in that as well. Vigorously combat violent groups that attack jews or other communities regardless of whether such extremists emerge from the right, the left or religious or ethnic communities as has been said before. Ensure that social Media Companies rigorously enforce robust terms of service against cyber hate, including the particular forms in which antisemitism manifest as was referred to earlier. We were very happy to host the social Media Companies at adl. Were really glad elan carr was there as well. Theres important conversations to be had. Thank you so much for having us here. We look forward to your questions and anything else i can help you. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you, ms. Nazarian. Ambassador ahmed. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. I would like to thank the commission for inviting me to this very important session. Id especially like to thank my friend, dr. Maenza. Antisemitism to me is like a dense poisonous fog which disappears altogether, at times its thick and at times it begins to lift, but somewhere its lurking out there. And im saying this because for the last three to four decades i have been personally involved in fighting the bigotry that creates antisemitism. I would request you to pay heed to this because im bringing a different kind of experience. Firstly i was privileged to be a commissioner in the study called a very light sleeper the persistence and dangers of antisemitism. This consisted of some eminent british scholars. Although i had some ideas of jewish history, working on this prompt opened my eyes to the extraordinary stirring story of the jewish people. Through the terrible persecution, the genocide the suffering the community remained steadfast to its faith. Not only was i understanding jewish history and culture, a lot of the time i was very ignorant and therefore i was appreciating my horizons of knowledge opening, but noting that so much of the abuse and attacks on the Jewish Community had a familiar ring, as i saw them happening to my own community. I believe anyone interested in the topic of antisemitism ought to read a very light sleeper. I have given some references below and i hope that they be consulted for the same purpose. The exercise helped me to understand better another phenomenal based on hatred that concerns and threatens my own community. Commonly referred to as islamophobia. A landmark study, again, produced, prejudice against muslims emerged from this earlier study on antisemitism. In 1999 i was invited to deliver the rabbi goldstein memorial annual lecture by the liberal and progressive synagogues of the uk at the famous st. Johns synagogue. Again, this was an event which proved historic and broke the ice between the two communities. After 9 11 i was privileged to be part of the first abraham summit initiated by senora senior rabbi abraham in the washington hebrew congregation and the episcopal bishop at a meal. We visit the houses of worships, universities, think tanks and appeared in main stream media including the bbc. I had the honor of speaking at the Holocaust Museum in washington, d. C. , and i found the experience deeply moving. I was also troubled that a lot of people including my own community were not aware this was a National American museum. They thought this was a Jewish Organization meant to propagate or use false propaganda and people didnt understand that this is something that is american and to my mind should really be compulsory in terms of education especially for the young generation. I became a charter member of the adls Interfaith Coalition on mosques which has challenged attacks and assaults on mosques after 9 11. I worked with the Greater Washington muslimjewish forum, the predecessor of the muslim jewish charter. This work has created good will among muslims for the Jewish Community. My friend whose son, daniel, was so brutally and tragically killed in karachi, in an act of blatant and crew antisemitism, we traveled the world promoting jewish muslim dialog to improve understanding. We traveled all over the world and the high point came when we spoke in the house of lords in london, in an event hosted by a jewish christian and muslim lord. A powerful and Successful Development in jewish muslim relations came when the scholar kessler appointed the founder and director for the first center for the study of muslim jewish relations at cambridge. Dr. Houthi, with a ph. D. From cambridge university, played a significant role in building bridges and, therefore, checking antisemitism by involving women and their families. First time ever it was happening on the ground level. So what are the lessons that i learned . I want to briefly give a few points and hopefully they will give us ideas of how to move ahead. After decades of dealing with the subject, here are the lessons i learned. The first lesson was that antisemitism is born of bigotry. Bigotry comes from lack of knowledge. Lack of understanding. Very often, people who are antisemitic they may have ideological reasons, ethnic reasons, political reasons, but to me, in the field i found most of them were coming from a sense of no knowledge. Lack knowledge. That allowed all kinds of stereotypes and tropes to enter their vision of the Jewish Community. So i think its vital that the scholars, especially the jewish scholars, the rabbis, and i must say i have been deeply impressed by the rabbis. Ive had the privilege of meeting some of the most outstanding rabbis probably on this planet and have been very, very impressed by their learning, their wisdom, and compassion. Of course, i have one rabbi sitting on my right. Now, i also find that in these dialogues very often we have the dialogues, breaking bread in all three traditions is vital. If you want to make friends, if you want to build bridges, break bread. Dr. Houthi initiated this in cambridge in england and very quickly she found that the Jewish Community, Muslim Community, with lots of complaints about each other, by the second or third meal, they were friends who were talking about shopping trees, talking against their husbands. All sorts of dynamics suddenly began to emerge. There was a lot in common between families. Also i find that dialogs that are taking place, thankfully, should be visible and frank. Very often, theyre stilted. We talk, we try to be good to each other, kind to each other, and dont bring out the really harsh. Theres a lot that is wrong in the Jewish Community and the Muslim Community and other communities which we must confront because antisemitism, as someone used the expression, is like a tumor. We have to unctioderstand. As a victim, a patient of this terrible disease, the malady, we really need to understand the disease to be able to attack it. I dont think its being done, unless youre very frank. Next point, i noticed you had these terrible incidents, the stabbings, and we got the reaction, the usual reaction, well have more guards, well have more patrols. Ive been a field officer. I ran large parts of pakistan in the tribal areas. Guards and patrols arent going to change minds because if theres hatred in peoples hearts, that hatred will remain. [ applause ] you need to clean, you need to challenge the hearts of the people and where this is coming from and that will happen, that can happen, if some of these steps are taken. The media must be involved. The media we all complain about as a terrible source of confusion and hatred, we heard ambassador carr talking about the trolls and the venom in it, but it can also be a force of good. There can be documentaries. The platform can be used to promote dialog, to promote friendship. One of the most powerful symbols happened in terms of jewish muslim dialogue when the rabbi walked across the stage at the stage, the synagogue, in the washington hebrew congregation during our dialogue and kissed me on both cheeks. Suddenly you had this huge audience, first time, just after 9 11, seeing a muslim and rabbi embracing and the rabbi kissing a muslim. It had a very powerful effect and i could see how the Muslim Students congregated toward each other. Now, i want to conclude by saying that i heard this phrase, never again. And the Holocaust Museum i repeated it again and again, and im sorry to say, we must not be complacent about this. We think we just say, never again and go home and nothing happens. The government, you distinguished people running this government, you must make sure when we say never again, we mean never again. Its happening, and antisemitism may not be happening on a vast scale but its happening too frequently. And to me, thats very alarming. If you have one jewish person killed, thats too many. Again and again this happening in pittsburgh, new york, today here or tomorrow over there. We cannot accept it. We must not say never again and not mean it. We must mean it. In conclusion, in the highly complex and interconnected world that we live, we must Work Together to bring down the temperature. The violence and hatred must not congeal into the new normal. It is the modern obligation to preserve the grand and noble vision of the Founding Fathers of this great nation. At the heart of that vision lies jeffersonian religious pluralism. Hatred, bigotry and violence against minorities are unacceptable. Theyre unacceptable because theyre immoral and theyre unamerican. Over the years, i have been most impressed and senator rosen cited this, the judaic phrase, i dont think she used the phrase, am i right, rabbi . Thank you. Now this phrase i learned from my friend, lord jonathan sax, it is, i think, something that we all as a civilization, as a world civilization, into the 21st century, must use, christians, muslims, jews, we need to know that the world needs healing and we will Work Together, shoulder to shoulder, to go out and heal this world. If you look at the world, it is in such a mess and its in flames. Theres nothing more powerful for me than this particular image. And as a proud muslim, let me say it echos my own tradition in which scholars and sufis practiced what they call peace with all. Thank you. [ applause ] ambassador, thank you. Rabbi cooper. Thank you. I first on behalf of the 400,000 members of the Simon Wiesenthal center, i want to commend senator jackey rosen and through the chair, chairman perkins, for being here, right here in the u. S. Senate at a time of a broken political conversation in our country. And through cspan and hightech, sending out a message to our elected officials on both sides. There shouldnt be only antisemitism and let us start with it, in order to try to rediscover a sense of why were really here and a type of bipartisanship and when we can, nonpartisanship. I commend the commitment across the board politically, religiously, for you, sir, you dont know me very well but you should be very worried when a rabbi starts by saying something nice about you. [ laughter ] so, let me make also with permission two comments on some of the important issues being raised previously. On the monday morning after the mass murders in new zealand, i received a phone call from the senior official from facebook. He said, rabbi, got great news for you, weve already removed streaming of the mass murders that took place in new zealand. And i said, peter, i thought you were calling me for a different reason, to tell me that facebook and twitter were going to take the lead, if necessary, in eliminating Live Streaming altogether if that meant, as weve seen since, that every other shooter since has put a camera up on their helmet or hat and have tried to mimic this horrific game plan. Now, i had a program called digital terrorism and hate. I didnt know anything about technology. I asked my grandchildren. But this is last years report. Well be back to washington on march 5th for the 2020 report. Were being too kind to the social media giants. Ive had many meetings with them. I enjoy putting out our report card. We actually grade them. Theyve done some great things, but this is not really a time for more conversation. I think commissioner moore said it, they create the most incredible opportunities for all of us technologically and the short answer to a complicated question, can they do more . Much, much more . They know they can, and they need to be nudged. So i would suggest, for starters, that, perhaps, the next hearing take place in california. If they dont let you up in Silicon Valley, you can always use our museum of tolerance in los angeles. Secondly, yesterday, we were host to secretary of state pompeos point man on iran, brian hook was in los angeles to speak with the very large persianamerican community, and he had a visit to our museum of tolerance and a press conference. During that press conference, rabbi hyer and both of them brought up the issue of the fact that its the state policy of iran in promoting Holocaust Denial. So when, perhaps, the first iterations of this took place 20, 30, 40 years ago, we would say thats really terrible. The victims feel horrible. Youre killing the people who died again. It really is terrible hate speech. Were way beyond that. For the iranian regime, the denial of the holocaust is a precursor to planning the next genocide. These are a state which is on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon, but even without it, the players they put in play and all of us in a sense are hostage. Looking at the events of the last few days, bringing the world literally to the brink of, god forbid, of another global c conflagration. So, what everyone said here, it starts with antisemitism, it never ends. When you dont deal with it, for example, germany wont call out the Holocaust Denial of the iranians to their face. Its not just maybe a clever move on them for their economic interests, but theres a huge price to pay, part of which were seeing right now where Holocaust Denial becomes a li livewire. And that came out yesterday during the press conference where we were all holding our breath, and thankfully we all know now that no american lives were lost. So for my presentation this morning, and i think its a good move that you took the clergyman last and gave them four minutes instead of the five or six that i just heard. But let me focus on really four countries in europe. Im certain that no one here has ever heard of a man who died on december 29th having never recovered from a knifewielding fanatic screaming allahu akbar. Worst still, his attacker who had stabbed an innocent victim back in 2010, was deemed unfit for trial by french authorities. So he was let go, free to attack again. Shallom paid the ultimate price, and believe it or not, this time the killer was released after six months, deemed mentally unfit. And in january 2020, no one has a clue where he is. The Simon Wiesenthal center released our top ten 2019 antisemitic and antiisrael incidents a few weeks ago. Number four was the release of another murderer. A murderer of a beautiful french jewish kindergarten teacher, sara halemy, who was attacked at her own apartment and flung to her death by an assailant who by his own admission was chanting koranic texts. He was recently released because he had smoked pot before the attack. Yesterday, or actually on sunday, french jews and others outraged and fearful citizens, took to the streets of paris to protest this outrage. In 2015 another muslim with no prior history of Mental Illness was deemed unfit to stand trial for stabbing of jews in marseille. Initially released, the protests did lead for him to be jailed for four years. This french judiciary policy of ultimate appeasement of murderous antisemitism traces back to a man who was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for stabbing a jew to death. He had no prior history of Mental Illness. Commissioners, it is the french judiciary that has exposed itself again and again as unwilling and unfit to protect french from violent antisemitism, even when Law Enforcement does its job. Left unchanged, such despicable policies endanger all jews in france and merits the placing of france on your tier two watch list. Sweden, on the 81st anniversary of the night of broken glass, when german synagogues were gassed by the nazis, todays nazis plastered stickers shaped like yellow stars on multiple jewish sites on sweden and denmark. In denmark they were placed on private residences and tombstones at the cemetery were vandalized. The same yellow stars appeared across sweden including in the capital of stockholm. Near the great synagogue of stockholm and a school were all targeted. Elsewhere, jewish buildings in the city of helsenborg where jewish women were stabbed and severely injured earlier last year. A jewish mother who sends her kids to a school in stockholm, declined to give her name in an interview but said the following. It is very, very sad that is so and perhaps something that makes us sometimes think of moving to another country. Will it be easier to be fully who we are. Nearly ten years ago the Simon Wiesenthal center placed a travel advisory on swedens Third Largest city for failing to deal with incessant antisemitic incidents against its rabbi and small Jewish Community. Very little has changed despite the governments recent announcement it will give a grant to better protect Jewish Community facilities. Simply put, that may be too late. Media reports that the number of jews in the city has rapidly decreased in the last 20 years and warned that the citys community might disappear entirely. A local jewish teen described his experience living in the city this past summer saying, uncertainty means that you cannot go to school with a visible star of david because then there is a high risk of being threatened or that someone follows you from the school or even of being beaten. The Swedish National council for Crime Prevention reported a record high 280 antisemitic incidents. A jump of 53 over their last audit. While jews make up no more than onefifth of 1 of swedens population, more than 4 of all hate incidents in the Country Target jews. Sherry tigman, acting group chief and preliminary investigations leader at stockho stockholms Police Democracy and hate crime group, said police need to do more to understand jewish culture. You want to know how clueless they are . It was the same Swedish Police who gave permission to neonazis to rally in the square named in memory of Raul Wallenberg directly across from stockholms main synagogue. Sweden fails to protect its jewish citizens and institutions and failed to hold antisemites accountable for their actions in both public and private sectors including at its famed and respected koralinska hospital. Sweden should be placed on the commissions tier two watch list. German official lamentations against antisemitism are not always matched by consistent broadbased actions. Weve heard about the description of yom kippur, what happened around the synagogue. Only a miracle saved dozens of jews from the bullets of a neo nazi gunman as they stood in prayer. Two other innocent people who werent jews but deserve to be remembered today werent so lucky. They were killed by the gunman. Antisemitism in germany is surging and not only from the extreme right. Recently, hours after i met with the mayor of berlin, an israeli student was assaulted on the streets of the most important city in central europe, maybe in all of europe. His crime . Speaking hebrew in public. Jewish kids have been bullied in schools, tourists are accosted. The Wiesenthal Center and others have been urging gale merkel to declare hezbollah a terrorist organization. This would cut them off from the Financial Support they enjoy from supporters in germany and make it harder for them to further spread their hatred of jews among young muslims in the country. To date, unfortunately, chancellor merkel has refused ensuring that germanys Jewish Community will be further endangered. We, therefore, call on the commission to put germany on your tier two watch list. Finally, england. Days before the uks last election, our center listed Jeremy Corbyns labor party as number one in a very crowded field of 2019 top antisemites. Thankfully, corbyn resigned after historic defeat of his party. The antisemitism he allowed to be released played a role in his political demise. Tragical tragically, however, the injection of cancerous antisemitism into the mainstream of Englands National political and social discourse will have longlasting impact. Ugly antisemitic hate crimes have continued daily since the election day. Given the close historic links between our two countries and cultures, it is important that the commission carefully analyze the Current Situation and consider placing the uk on its watch list as well. In closing, the Wiesenthal Center urges the commission to expand its consultation with special envoy elan carr and to, perhaps, convene a future hearing in 2020 in the european capital. Its an important statement by us americans, and i think were Strong Enough and have enough moral backbone to know well be suffering the backlash immediately by saying im going to quote you the adl statistics of the u. S. Why did you cross the atlantic . Were crossing the atlantic because in addition to the problem, we have some solutions. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you, rabbi cooper, and ill just say that we have discussed that as a possibility for the commission. I know theres some commissioners that have some questions. I would just state at the beginning that we have exceeded our time, posted time, for our hearing today which was to end at 3 00 but because of the content here and the opportunity we have with such distinguished panelists, im going to allow each of the commissioners that would like to ask a question. Ill start with commissioner bauer. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Rabbi, i think that phone call that came in was probably the ambassador of sweden, france, germany, or england, who wanted to give some input on our vote. So i dont have a question because were running late on time, but ill tell you that ill be the daring one to promise publicly that at the next Commission Meeting when were making decisions on this that i will move to do exactly what you suggest and well see how the vote goes. Thank you. [ applause ] vice chair manchin . No oh. Okay. She was going to report on that phone call. I think shes going to pass. Thank you. Thank you, all. It was just so helpful and informative for us to hear all your perspectives. Ambassador, i was curious about your interfaith work if you have received hostility for that and how you have dealt with that going forward. Thank you for asking that question. I received a lot of hostility, as you can imagine. Both in the United States and europe. Straight after 9 11 when we did this groundbreaking work with the rabbi and the bishop, i got emails, people ringing up, and this carried on. However, i look at the Positive Side of life. And i also saw, in fact, they used to laugh at me on stage, used to look at the audiences. We attracted huge audiences. He said, look, only about 10 muslims and all jews here. I said, give them a chance. You will see them be 15 , 20 , 30 . Pause and that will tilt things, change things. Unless you have a dialogue, if youre listening to them, theyre understanding your problems, nothings really going to change. My aim was to try to create that dynamism. That dynamic which would change things. Yes, i think anyone involved in this has to understand that they face challenges from their own community, and let me tell you that some of mira buy friends and bishop friends also said the same thing. That they also faced resistance from their own community. And you really have to carry on because its more than just a job or 9 00 to 5 00 kind of action youre taking. Its a belief, its a commitment that you have. My daughter, dr. Houthi, who i mentioned luxuckily is here wit us today. When she became the first ever director of the jewish Muslim Center in the world and she got a lot of hate mail. Are you a zionist agent . That kind of nonsense. I was in america, she was at cambridge, she said what would you advise . Look, its hot in the kitchen youre facing ignorance. Remember, your aim is to see the world as through the lens of compassion and love. Which is what were commanded as muslims. God constantly tells us to reach out to and embrace the world. Now, if other people are interpreting that differently we must challenge that and we must remember that compassion is at the heart of judaism as far as i can understand, christianity and thats at the heart of these great faiths. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you, ambassador ahmed. I want to thank all of our panelists. All of our witnesses. What we have heard here today, there is certainly a consistent thread that has been woven throughout the testimony today that this is a shared problem and it must result in a shared responsible action. It begins with each of us in our various communities speaking to the need of this, but theres also the recognition that was addressed here today, repeatedly, that this is not a problem just for the Jewish Community. If anything, theyre at the tip of the spear. And what we see happening globally to the Jewish Community, it is something that will affect every religious community in every part of the world. And we have a responsibility as a leading nation, as a commission that oversees and promotes religious freedom globally to address this issue. Even though there has been some resistance even to us taking up this issue, but i want all of our panelists and witnesses here that have experienced that to know that today we express great appreciation to each of you and your respective areas of expertise in bringing attention to this issue and continuing to address this issue, and as a commission, i think i speak on behalf of all the commissioners in saying we look forward to working with you and others that are addressing this issue going forward. So thank you very much. Thank all of you for being here. We are adjourned. Coming up here on cspan3, some of this years state of the state addresses. We begin with West Virginia governor jim justice followed by governor doug deucy of arizona. And kansas governor laura kelly. The apaches and blackhawk and the various other tribes for whom different Weapon Systems have been named fought the United States army. And so its its obviously quite unusual that you would name a modern Weapon System for an old enemy and yet thats what they do. And i should add very quickly that the tribes really liked that. You will see in the case of these helicopters that the army will hold a special ceremony with the leadership of that tribe present and present, you know, miniature models and plaques acknowledging that the army is borrowing their tribal name for a particular Weapon System. If you also look at the patches of many units in the military, they will select native American Imagery as their insignia and its, obviously, you know, theyre thinking in terms of indians have a reputation for being gallant, for being brave, for being ferocious in many cases, but ultimately for strength. Part of tonights visit to the smithsonians American Indian museum here in washington, d. C. , as we continue American History tvs museum week highlighting museums that explore the american story. Tonight we learn about the use of native American Imagery and see some of the museums artifacts. Part of museum week, each night this week at 8 00 eastern, showing the types of programs youll find on American History tv every weekend here on cspan3. President trump is continuing his fourday campaign road trip of rallies and fundraisers through the western u. S. Today with a stop in colorado. Hes holding a rally this evening in colorado springs. Cspan will have live coverage of that event starting at 7 00 eastern. You can also watch online at cspan. Org or listen live with the free cspan radio app. During this election season, the candidates beyond the talking points are only revealed over time. But since you cant be everywhere, theres cspan. Our campaign 2020 programming differs from all other political coverage for one simple reason. Its cspan. Weve brought you your unfiltered view of government every day since 1979 and this year, were bringing you an unfiltered view of the people seeking to steer that government this november. In other words, your future. So this election season, go deep, direct, and unfiltered. See the biggest picture for yourself and make up your own mind. With