Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing On Combating Hate Crimes 20240713

This is three and a half hours. Good morning, the committee will come to order. And without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. With that, ill now recognize myself to give an opening statement. Two days ago, the entire world came together to Mark International holocaust Remembrance Day. In addition, 75 years ago this week, in january of 1945, the auschwitz berknau concentration camp was liberated from the nazis. It was one of the most infamous sites of the nazi genocide. More than a Million People were murdered there. The purpose of todays hearing is to commemorate these grave anniversaries to remember those we lost, and to honor those who are still with us. But it is not enough to simply recognize these dates. We must also contemplate what led to these atrocities. We must remember the holocaust in order to help combat bigotry, hate, and violence of all kinds today. I am so pleased to have our distinguished panel here today, i have asked them to help us come together, on todays solemn occasion, to help us rise above issues, that may divide us, and help us unify our efforts around a common purpose of hope and inclusion. On this day of all days, i hope we could all do that. One issue we will discuss today is what we can do to ensure that future generations never forget the lessons of the holocaust. This may sound hard to believe, but the Pew Research Center recently issued a report finding that fewer than half of americans surveyed knew how mjes were killed in the holocaust and only 38 of American Teens surveyed knew the nazis killed six million jews and only a third knew that hitler was democratically elected. The best way i know to help people remember the holocaust is to hear firsthand from the people who went through it. We are very fortunate to have that opportunity today. In addition to the Holocaust Memorial museum, just a few blocks from here, is an outstanding and gripping institution, dedicated to remembering the holocaust in order to fight hate today. Im also pleased to announce that on monday, the house of representatives passed Bipartisan Legislation with 393 votes that i introduced and authored called the never again education act, to give teachers Additional Resources to teach about the holocaust. I hope the senate will pass this bill and send it to the president as soon as possible, because the lessons of the past must inform our approach to fighting hate today. For example, this morning, we will hear testimony about the horrific shooting at the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh, the most deadly assault against the Jewish Community in american history. After that massacre, a group of Holocaust Survivors who volunteer in the Holocaust Museum wrote to the pittsburgh Jewish Community, in solidarity, explaining why they dedicated their lives to sharing the horrors they experienced. They wrote, and i quote, we seek to remind people, especially young people, our countrys future leaders, that hate can never be ignored. Complacency is dangerous. Standing up and pushing back is the only way we can make a better future. End quote. Unfortunately, there has been a sinister increase in hate crimes recently. Not only against jewish communities but against africanamericans, muslims, immigrants, and others. In november, the fbi released data showing the highest number of reported violence hate crimes in the United States in 16 years. The number of hate groups exploded to more than 1,000 in 2018. This was a record high, and a 30 increase over the past four years. To take just one example, when we watch the gruesome video footage of the neo nazi attacks in charlottesville, we see in excruciating detail the evil that still poisons our society to this day. I want all of our members to know that our committee is dedicated to fighting bigotry, hate, and violence of all kinds. Todays hearing, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz berknau, is one in a series we are holding on these issues, in the 116th congress. Chairman raskin, has held four hearings on the civil rights and Civil Liberties subcommittee to confront White Supremacy, religious persecution, and our governments response. Chairman lynch from the National Security subcommittee has worked with chairman raskin, to investigate the National Security implications of these threats. Going forward, we are planning additional hearings including one on Voter Suppression and minority communities, antimuslim discrimination, antiimmigrant actions, and issues facing the lbgtq communities. I have been in touch with many of you over the past weeks, and i hope youll come to me with any additional thoughts, ideas, or proposals, that you think our committee should take up as part of this series. We mark this day of remembrance just weeks after a recent spate of antisemitic attacks in new york city, including an attack at a rabbis home during the festival of hanukkah, it was heartening to participate in the solidarity march in new york following these attack, and i hope we can Work Together with that same spirit of solidarity today. I now want to recognize Ranking Member jordan. But before i do, id like to thank him personally for his support of the holocaust never again education act. Thank you, mr. Jordan. And youre recognized. Thank you, thank you, madam chair woman. Thank you for calling this hearing today. Thank you to all of our witnesses for being with us today, and in your testimony. And i want to apologize on the front end, i have to head across to the other side of the capitol here in a few minutes, theres a proceeding in the United States senate thats been going on for a couple of weeks and i need to get over there for a meeting. On monday, we recognized the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. We pause to remember the six million innocent lives taken by this evil. As Vice President pence said last week, we have quote an obligation of remembrance to never let the memory of those who died in the holocaust be forgotten by anyone, anywhere, in the world. We must never forget the horrors of the holocaust and we must always condemn antisemitism in all its forms. I would like to take a moment to recognize mr. Gnat shafear, the witness i just met here today with us who is also himself a holocaust survivor. An incredible honor to you have with us today, sir. Thank you. Thank you again for your testimony. One of the most important ways in which the United States continues to support the jewish people is through our unwavering support for the state of israel. Since the formation of israel in 1948, the United States has had a special bond with the israeli people. Since President Trump took office three years ago, he has made it his mission to strengthen this important bond. President trump has worked to ensure the whole world knows that the United States stands firmly with the state of israel. President trump in just three years, in just three years, heres what happens happened. Recognized the Golan Heights as a part of israel. Hes withdrawn from the failed Iranian Nuclear deal. Hes taken Decisive Action to eliminate sule manny, one of the greatest threats to israel and the middle east. He has aopposed the divestment and Sanction Movement chapped to diminish israel and issued an executive order to curtail antisemitism on College Campuses around the United States and just yesterday, President Trump released a groundbreaking peace plan. But maybe most important, President Trump fulfilled a decades old promise to the people of israel, and recognizing jerusalem as the capital of that state. Past president s have routinely made this promise and failed to deliver. 1976, former president carter ran on a platform that said quote we recognize to support the established status of jerusalem as the capital of israel. The u. S. Embassy should be moved from tell aleve to jerusalem. In 1993, former president clinton says jerusalem is still the capital of city. In 2000, former president bush says as soon as i take office i will begin process of leaving the u. S. Ambassador to the city as the chosen capital. And democratic nominee barack obama said juice lierusalem wile capital of industry. I said it before and i will say it again, President Trump recognized jerusalem last year and shows the israeli people that they have the support of the United States of america. We should all be proud of this friendship with israel and the israeli people and the work the president has done to solidify the relationship. As the Committee Works to address hate crimes and violent extremism, we would be wise to listen to the testimony today. Thank you, madam chairman. I yield back. Thank you very much. I would like to recognize two of my colleague, representative lawrence and representative wassermanschultz, both founding members of the congressional caucus on blackjewish relations. Ms. Lawrence. Thank you, chair woman maloney for holding this hearing and drawing attention to the alarming rise of antisemitic acts and hate crimes in the United States. Im going to see our committee, im glad to see our committee will be using our Oversight Authority to find innovative ways for the government to combat antisemitic, and the rise of White Supremacy analogy. Last year, i formed the congressional caucus on black jewish relations to discuss the relationships between africanamerican and jewish communities. Also to highlight our shared history of combatting racism and how the two groups in this country can Work Together to combat hate crimes, moving forward. Ive shared history of slavery and the holocaust, ouryk onward, we are still in january, there has been at least three reported antisemitic incidents in my home state of michigan, and more than 25 across the United States. The last few years have seen a disturbing spike in antisemitic attacks. Where more than 1800 reported in 2018 alone, according to the Antidefamation League. The most recent audit of antisemitic incidents, a 57 increase over 2017. As local communities experience a substantial rise in hate crimes, the federal government must assist state and local governments and Law Enforcement entities to develop ways to combat a rise in identitybased hate crimes. This pattern of hate illustrates a disturbing trend in our country that must be reversed. Hatefilled antisemitic acts will not be tolerated. And i will not stand by idly, as predators of these senseless attacks seek to sow fear across our country. The First Amendment gives all americans the right to freedom of religion, and will not allow, and we will not allow that right to be hindered by a small fraction who use their awful agenda to spread hate and crime. I look forward to working with the leadership of this amazing chair woman maloney, of this committee, members of the caucus on black and jewish relation, and all of the members of congress, and in the words of Martin Luther king, in justice anywhere ysh injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere and i want to thank madam chairman for holding this hearing. Thank you. Thank you, madam chair, i thank the gentle woman for con fening this important hearing. I serve proudly as the first jewish woman to represent florida in the United States congress and i just returned from israel and auschwitz with a bipartisan delegation led by Speaker Pelosi for the 75th anniversary of the liberation. Over one million men, women and children lost their lives at auschwitz berknau alone. We walked train tracks that transported innocent people to captivity and the gas chambers and visiting this historic member of genocide only reaffirmed for me that we cannot ignore the resurgence of hate we see now. To live the moral imperative of never again, we must hold hearings like this and shine a light on bigotry and white supremacist ideology. It is important to understore for this hearing that the fight against antisemitism and bigotry is about more than support for the state of israel. The story of the showa must also be clear, this systemic mass extermination did not happen overnight. It began with hate speech, harassment, and attacks on vulnerable communities. As these symptoms reemerge, we must speak out and act. Today, we will do that. We must also educate the american people, by highlighting the amazing accomplishments of persecuted communities in the United States. During important events, like the upcoming black history month, in february, and the Jewish American heritage month which we celebrate in may. Educating one another about our unique cultures, traditions, and accomplishments, when so many people across the country are unfamiliar with minority communities achievements and traditions is essential. I bet if each of us thinks about, it there are many of us who have populations of communities in our own districts that are either tiny or miniscule, and the first time that many members of congress interact with the Minority Community is when they join the United States congress. That is why its important to hold hearings like this one today, madam chair, and i appreciate our ability to make sure that we can rid our nation of every denial of one anothers humanity. I want to thank the panelists especially for being here, for being in the fight every day to make sure that we continue to shine a spotlight and root out bigotry and hate in all its forms and i particularly want it thank my colleague and dear friend congressman Brenda Lawrence for her leadership and vision to establish the congressional caucus on black, jewish relation, and i proudly join her as a cochair of that organization and look forward to our work. Thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. Thank you. I would now like to welcome our witnesses. And i recognize representative raskin to introduce our first distinguished witness. Thank you, madam chair, for calling this hearing, and for giving an opportunity to introduce to everyone a remarkable constituent from my district. Mat shapear, who was a little boy in romania, when a policeman arrived to arrest him, his two sisters and his parents, and it take them to a ghetto, for the crime of being jewish. Astonishingly, remarkably, they survived the holocaust, but mr. Shapear lost 32 other family members to the genocidal war waged upon the Jewish Community of europe. Since the holocaust ended, the civilized world has come together with one refrain, never again. And yet we live in a time of resurgence of authoritarian imp, propaganda, conspiracy theory, mass psychological manipulation, human rights violation, antisemitism, racism, and religious persecution, fanaticism, and violence. Just yesterday, the civil rights Civil Liberties subcommittee madam chair held a hearing on accelerating global religious persecution, taking place under the guise of the blasphemy heresy and apostasy laws including the internment of millions of mug limb uyghurs and the genocide against the rohingya in burma. Here at home, the last decade of dirty work by Cambridge Analytica and Vladimir Putin injecting racial and religious poison into social media has activated the most dangerous elements of our Society Creating a wave of white supremacist, violence and terror against singology, black church, jews in their homes, shopping at walmart and anyone deemed to be an outsider. We have got to get a hold on the convergence of rising white supremacist violence and off the charts gun violence. We must continue to pressure the federal government haz we have been doing on this committee tody device a Strategic Plan to combat the rise of violent White Supremacy and domestic terror here in the United States. Today we can focus on mr. Shapear whose indom table and restoring resilience is a lesson to all americans in this dark time. Last year at 82 years old, remarkably he became the only holocaust survivor alone to scale mount kilimanjaro, a feat he made by keeping in mind the words his father spoke to him during the holocaust, never give up. We are honored by his presence and i yield back ma tam, madam chair. And congratulations on your recent achievement. We are fortunate to have brad, the senior National Security adviser for the Security Community network and the former director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation of greater pittsburgh. I want to thank representative doyle for his assistance in putting us in touch with him, and we look forward to his testimony, and mr. Doyle may be able to join us later. He has a conflict right now. We also welcome dr. Edna friedberg, an historic for the United States Holocaust Memorial museum. Jonathan greenblatt, the chief executive officer for the Antidefamation League. And hillary shelt isnt director of the Washington Bureau and the senior Vice President for advocacy and policy for the National Association for the advancement of colored people. We also welcome ambassador dore gold, the president of the Jerusalem Center for public affair, and the former israeli ambassador to the united nations, and the former director general of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So if you would all rise and raise your right hand, i will be begin by swearing you in. Do you swear it affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god. Lets the record show that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. Thank you, and be seated. The microphones are very sensitive. So please speak directly into them. And without objection, your statement will be made part of the record, and with that, mr. Shapear, you are now recognized for five minutes for your opening statement. Thank you. Thank you, chair woman maloney, rank ing member, guest and congress people. You im honored to be here today and share with you a little bit about my personal experience. Pull the microphone a little closer to you so we can hear better. Thank you. Im honored to be here and share with you a little bit about my personal experience about what happened to me and my family during the holocaust years. In 1924, my father established a farm in the northeastern part of romania. For 18 years, he and my mother worked the farm. My two sisters and myself were born there. I went to kindergarten, i started first grade, everything was okay in the farm for a child in particular. One of our neighbors was a priest who used to come by once a week to ask my father for a donation to the church and also some Dairy Products for some of his constituents, or some of his congregants who could not otherwise afford. It and 18 years, my father never once refused such a request. One day, in november 1942, the same priest showed up, however this time, he showed up with an armed Police Officer, and two armed guard soldiers also armed. We did not know why that happened this time. So we all went out to find out what was going on. When we came close to the priest, he was looking at the Police Officer, and pointing at us, and saying she these are jews, so we were turned into the authorities by a priest. The Police Officer stepped forward, and he said to us, we have four hours to vacate the farm, because he has orders to relocate us in a different part of the city. Now, at this point, my father and my mother both tried to convince him perhaps he can forget the order for relocating us but it didnt happen. At this point, we also knew where we were going because in 1941 the ghetto of yorb was established, a year earlier. After the four hours were over, we came into the house, we packed whatever valuables we had, and when the four hours were over, the policeman told us it is time for us to leave, and we were escorted to the getso. Once we arrived there, we were turned over to the ghetto police, where we received our orientation, what we can and cannot do. Most of the things that we were not able to do, no longer able to go to school, jewish people could no longer participate in public prayers. While we were there, we were given ration cards, and also at the same time, we were given five yellow stars with the word on, it which means jew, and that we had to wear constantly on our left lapel. Every man between the ages of 18 and 50 would be going to work on a daily basis. My fathers job was to sweep the streets in the summer time and shovel the snow in the winter time and clean the market area. My mother was an orderly in a hospital. At this point, we didnt know what we can do to survive primarily because there was a certain mode of survival. That we tried to constantly focus on. My father used to go to work on a daily basis. Then one day in 1943, in june of 1943, a big sign was posted in the ghetto area, that said, any individual male in particular between the ages of 18 and 50 must assemble at the yard, at the main ghetto square, and bring extra clothing if they had any. When my father was supposed to be assembled, we all cried, didnt sleep that day, that night, the next morning, we all cried, we didnt know when or if we were ever going to see our father again. The last minute, before he left, i asked my father, and asked him if it is okay for me to walk with him to the assemble area, and he agreed. We walked hand in hand, until we got to the area that he was supposed to be assembling, and at that point, we did not say anything to each other, we just held on tight. He arrived in the assembled mother and my father said matt, its time for you to go back and at that time, he turned to me, put both his hands on my shoulders and said five words to me, these five words will remain with me for the rest of my life. He said matt, take care of the girls. Im at this point, im seven years old. You cannot imagine the pressure that puts on a sevenyearold boy. I could have told him, ill try, ill do my best, but i didnt but what i said, ill take care of the girls papa, i will. From that point on, no matter how hard it was for me personally and how easy it was for me to give up, i couldnt, because i promised my father that i would take care of the girls. The same day, that day, my father was shipped to a forced labor camp. We didnt hear from him for many, many months. While he was away, i tried to do my best to get our family to survive. So one of the things that we received in the ghetto was ration cards. The ration cards were primarily for bread, which allowed us to receive a quarter of a loaf of bread per person every two days. And five liters of kerosene. To receive these rations, we had to walk out of the ghetto. Since my, since i was, my sister was three years older than me, my father would send out my sister to get his ration card, these rations. Until one day he found out that some of the hooligans are picking on jewish girls. From that point on, he started sending me out to get these rations. The same hooligans also picked on jewish boys. Many times i would come home beat up, bloody face, but that never hurt so much as it did when they took away my bread, these men, for the next two days, we had nothing to eat. When my father realized what happened for the first time, she also realized this would happen again and from that point on, she started rationing us from our own rations and tried to save a little bit on every time we referr referred some of thes rations. This went on for a while. All of our family, what was left, back and hungry, will remain in hungary, and we know from the historical, that the nazis invaded hungary, in march of 1944. Between april 44 and july of 1944, 440,000 jews were reported to auschwitz. Among these 440,000 were 33 member was my family. Immediately the old ones and the young ones were immediately put to death in gas chambers. Those were able to work were sent to different camps. Most of them died from starvation. We dont know when or where. We only know the fate of three. And thats one of my grandfathers and two of my uncles who were in auschwitz at the end. My grandfather died of starvation a month before he was liberated. Two of my uncles survived the duration, one was 21 years old, and one was 22 years old. Each one weighed 65 pounds. You can imagine what they looked like. When you said to somebody, this individual looked like a walking skeleton or skin and bones, thats pretty much what they looked like. When the red cross came in to the camp and said the conditions these people were in, they immediately put them on ships and took them to sweden to a san tore yum to recuperate. One of the two uncles unfortunately did not make it to sweden. He died on the way. And was buried at sea. One did survive. He was in a sanitorium in a four years to gain his weight and his health back. Eventually he emigrated to the United States. He was liberated by the russian, in the early summer of 1945, and still, never heard from my father what happened. We didnt know if he was alive or dead. Once we were liberated, we were able to go back to school. However, the antisemitism was still very strong under the come next regime. In 1947, in 1945, what was finally, my father was able to come back to us, and in 1947, we realized there was no long area future for jewish people in romania, and we decided to leave. The only country that would accept refugees at that time was palestine. We applied for an exit visa from the authorities, and every time we applied for, to leave the country, we received a return reply, denied. So constantly we tried for two years, and eventually my mother was able to bribe one the officials that was in charge of giving out the vaetss, and in 1950, received a visa to leave for israel. In the meantime, i lived in israel for ten years, i served in an elite unit of the army, i married, i have five children, 12 grandchildren, all of my children and grandchildren are named by one of these people who were murdered by the nazis. And i thank you for listening. Appreciate it. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Well now hear from mr. Osini. Chair woman, Ranking Member, distinguished members of the commit, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you on this very important issue. January 2017, i retired after 32 years of federal government service. Four years in the United States marine corps, and 28 years as special agent in the fbi. I joined the Jewish Federation in pittsburgh and i developed a Security Program as their first kmunl security director. The first synagogue i ever visited, i asked if they received hate mail. The answer was instantly yes. I then asked them, what do you do with that hate mail . They said they throw it away. That wa not be the first time i heard that. Our goal from that point on was to conduct an Awareness Campaign stressing the importance of reporting every sign of hate, and provide the tools necessary for our community to build a conscious culture of security. We followed the see something, Say Something model and we requested our community to commit to action. Over the next 18 months, until october 27th, 2018, the Pittsburgh Community continued to experience antisemitism on a routine basis. However, this time, our community started to report incidents. We would no longer ignore any sign of hate and encouraged our community not only in pittsburgh but all over the country to report every incident. In pittsburgh, we developed a program that was based on three prongs. To keep our people safe. The first prong was assessment of our organizations and buildings which lead to target hardening, and the development of Emergency Operation plans. Number two, constant training and drills for our people. And three, threat mitigation and a way to facilitate action from Law Enforcement. To fully understand what happened on october 27th, you need to understand the measures our community took regarding our new communal Security Program, the 18 months leading up to the shooting. Several measures that are outlined were fully in my written statement did make a difference on october 27th to help numerous people survive. To get out. And to help others. Protect themselves. And get to safety. Unfortunately, we still lost 11 lives that day. Our communal Security Program prior to october 27th trained over 6,000 people in pittsburgh in various security protocols to include active shooter and stop the bleed training. We have now taken news daily, tree of life testimonials to train all over the country, to demonstrate why people lived that day life, and it sure did that day. It is unfortunate we have to teach our Jewish Community and prepare our community to live three to five minutes prior to Law Enforcement responding through various training protocols. Two other very important training initiatives that took place involved the Pittsburgh Police department. First is our Holocaust Police initiative where every pittsburgh Police Officer spends four hours at our Holocaust Center in pittsburgh prior to graduating the police academy. Secondly, the Pittsburgh Police department started and initiated a rescue task force. On 10 27 it was the first time the task force was deployed and we had a trauma surgeon rendering lifesaving first aid in the building while shooting was going on. When it comes to tracking anti semitism and threat mitigation we partnered with the fbi. This has been instrumental and we forged an important relationship between the community and Law Enforcement. As soon as we receive any ant antisemitic through we report it through our Virtual Command Center which is linked directly to the fbi. They see everything we do in realtime to track, assess and mitigate the threat. On october 27th, 2018, our community witnessed the deadliest antisemitic attack in our nations history. The shooting had a profound impact on jews across the country. In pittsburgh our Communal Security efforts prior to the shooting were focused on preparedness through awareness and education. Not everybody in the community thought it was necessary to prepare or take an active role in their own security. Some left that solely up to Law Enforcement or ignored the issues and the rise in antisemitic activity. After the shooting that all changed. It not only changed in pittsburgh but in jewish communities across the country. I will never forget walking through that horrific crime scene on october 27th and witnessing the destruction that one man caused because of hateful antisemitism. I am certain those in the building that day to include our Community Members as well as First Responders will never forget those images as well. People were murdered simply because they were jews gathered to pray. For countless number of people, that image will never be erased. It cannot, nor will it ever be forgotten. We need to build a strong, resilient Jewish Community. I have now spent over 35 years of my professional career in protecting the country and now the Jewish Community. It is an absolute honor to serve the jewish people and i continue to spend the rest of my professional career working to protect the jewish and other faithbased communities. Thank you for your attention and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. Thank you so much. Mr. Jonathan greenblatt. Good morning, chair woman maloney. I want to thank you and all of the distinguished members of the committee. Thank you. Good morning, chairwoman maloney and all distinguished members of the committee. On behalf of adl thank you for the opportunity to testify here today and to share our perspective. It is a privilege for me to be here alongside this distinguished panel, but im particularly wanting to recognize mr. Shaffir and acknowledge your strength and courage which is an inspiration to all of us. I am feeling particularly moved because i just returned from the World Holocaust Forum in jerusalem where more than 45 World Leaders recommitted themselves to addressing hate. It was a pleasure to see a bipartisan delegation from congress there including congresswoman wassermanschultz. I want to give a special thank you to you, chairwoman maloney, for leading passage of the never again act in the house this week. Adl is already working to build upon the 11 states that mandate Holocaust Education and Genocide Education in the Public School crick limb. We will support you as the bill moves to the senate. Thank you. You know, when i was a boy i could ask my grandfather who was a refugee from nazi germany what it was like. I could speak to people in my synagogue in bridgeport, connecticut, in my community who had survived, but it is no longer the case. As time passes memory fades. A pew Study Released last week indicates millennials know less about the holocaust than past generations. It was determined in another poll only an estimated 54 of the entire World Population has even heard about the holocaust. Others think it is just not important. A survey that adl released this morning reported that 19 of American Adults say that, quote, jews still talk too much about the holocaust. This at a time when hate crimes are up, when violence is up against jews and other religious minorities and other marginalized communities. From a College Football coach in michigan defending hitler to state trooper cadets in wisconsin snapping nazi salutes to activists in chicago getting booted out of a pride march because they carried a flag bearing a jewish symbol, to visibly identifiable jews harassed on a subway in manhattan or assaulted in broad daylight in brooklyn, instances of antisemitism are up. Adls most recent audit of incident reported as noted earlier more than 1,800 antijewish acts in 2018, the highest total tracked in 40 years, and the hate is getting more violent. Not just against jews but against all minority groups, from charlottesville to pittsburgh, from poway to el paso, from jersey city to muncie, extremists feel emboldened in this environment to act out their hate. So it might surprise you as relates to antisemitism is this increase of incidents happening against a backdrop of steady low levels of Antisemitic Attitudes among the general population. Why is that . First, we have leading voices in our nation who are normalizing antisemitism, who are making hate routine. They are using antisemitic tropes about globalists controlling government, about bankers trying to destroy our borders, accusing jews of having dual loyalty, attacking with the same myths they use to dem onidemonize. All of this renders intolerance routine. Second, the Online Gaming sbier environments are spawning hate, particularly the original fake news. With 2. 5 billion members facebook is the largest and most established of these offenders. Its policies still dont classify Holocaust Denial as hate speech. Youtube has made some progress but not nearly enough. Just as these market leaders have used ingenuity and innovation to reinvent media and build billion dollar brands, they now need to apply those same capabilities to remove hate from their platforms and build stronger, better societies. Let me conclude with key recommendations. Number one, leaders must speak out against hate at every opportunity. Number two, social media platt forms must act more responsibly and ban Holocaust Denial for what it is, unacceptable. Number three, the neveragain education act must become law. Number four, congress should pass a nohate act of 2019 to spark improved local and state hate crime training and prevention. Number five, congress should fully fund the nonprofit security and Grant Program to protect all atrisk nonprofits, and specifically faithbased institutions. Finally, we would Implore Congress to pass the domestic terrorism prevention act to ensure the federal government is appropriately allocating resources to the threat of White Supremacy and radical extremism today. I applaud the leadership of the committee. Ms. Chairwoman, thank you for the opportunity to be here. I look forward to your questions. Thank you so much. Mr. Hillary shelton. Thank you for coming. Good morning, chairwoman, Ranking Member jordan and esteemed members of the committee. I would like to thank you for asking me here to talk about a topic crucial to the naacp and the communities we serve and represent as well as the nation as a whole. The continued presence and, indeed, the growth of White Nationalism and White Supremacy in america. You are to be recommended as leaders in your communities for promoting tolerance in your communities which was reflected in one of the first acts of your congress, the resolution rejecting White Nationalism and White Supremacy in america. In the preable to our associations constitution, the naacp has sworn to continue to fight for justice until all without regard of race, gender, creed or religion, enjoy equal status. In short, we were founded as an antithesis of White Nationalism and White Supremacy and members and follows of naacp have continued to this day to up hold this ideal of equal opportunity and equal protection under the law. It is not an easy path however and we continue to face challenges. Throughout history White Supremacy has been espoused to the detriment of many others due to their race, ethnicity, religion, point of National Origin or family background. As we all know, White Supremacy can lead to atrocities such as genocide of native americans, the holocaust, slavery, lynching, segregation and a whole host of other horrors. We have however successfully fought back against some of the terrors through laws like the hate Crime Statistics act and math shoe shepherd james byrd hate crimes prevention act. But we can and must be do more. The naacp strongly supports the bipartisan and bicameral no hate act. This important legislation addresses the problems of underreporting to the fbi under the hate crimes statistics act and allows courts to require the defendant participant to participate in Educational Programs or Community Services as a condition of supervised release. We must also address the problems associated with the online hate, yet i am quit to note a word of caution. The line between impermissible hate speech and one persons First Amendment rights of free speech is extremely narrow. The naacp strongly supports and endorses the domestic terrorism act. This seminal legislation would enhance the federal governments efforts to prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal Law Enforcement agencies to regularly assess the threat posed by White Supremacy and other violent individuals. We support the legislation that would make lynching a federal hate crime, therefore eligible for additional tools needed in local communities and resources used to investigate and prosecute these heinous crimes. The naacp endorses and supports legislation which was just introduced yesterday in the other body, that is the senate, that justice for victims of hate crimes act which will make it easier to prosecute hate crimes. Finally, i cannot emphasize this strongly enough, we need to boost the education of our youth on the horrors of the genocide of native americans, the holocaust, slavery, lynching and all other acts of terror that white nationalists and White Supremacy have brought upon us as a nation and as a world. To fail to do so would be a crime in and of itself and an insult to the millions of our an e cestors who struggled. We need to learn from the past so it is never repeated. We commend you for the great work you did in rejecting White Nationalism and White Supremacy, yet we still have political leaders who talk questions like white nationalists, white supremacist, western civilization, how is that language offensive or they make odious statements such as you had fine people on both sides. On the august 2019 demonstration in charlottesville that resulted in a violent demonstration between a group of social justice activists supporting diversity throughout the nation and equal opportunity and protection for allamericans. This was a confrontation which led to the death of heather heyer. There is an obvious need for more research, understand in, reflection and education. Weal thank you again for inviting me here today and for your interest in the views of the naacp. I look forward and ready to answer any questions as we move to that part of the presentation. Thank you. Thank you. Ambassador dore gold. Madam chairwoman, Ranking Member jordan, thank you for your invitation. I have been i am an israeli citizen and israeli diplomat and i happen to have been in washington yesterday bought of the ceremonies that occurred in the white house where the United States issued a new peace plan for the middle east, but i was very glad to join you here and express some of my conclusions on this issue. This hearing was conceived to deal with three interrelated issues. First, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz at the end of world war ii. Second, we are using this moment to consider the rise of antisemitism in recent years, especially in states that fought the evil of naziism, which is why it is so particularly disturbing. These are states that are at the center of our current civilization, so when antisemitism is rising in france, in germany, in britain and in the United States we have to Pay Attention in perhaps ways we wouldnt otherwise. Finally, we consider what the legacy of auschwitz requires from us today. I have served in multiple diplomatic positions for the state of israel including as its ambassador to the united nations. As director general to the ministry of Foreign Affairs. Wherever i was posted, the holocaust was a National Disaster that we, the representatives of the reborn jewish state, could never forget. During my tenure as director general when coming for a dialogue with the german government, we took time off to visit the outskirts of berlin and the villa where senior ss officers like the infamous reinhart heidrich convened a meeting in 1942 to plan the final solution of the jews of europe. It was here that a plan was conceived for the yojews of occupied german europe that included the building of auschwitz. As in many historical sites that were preserved, there was a guest book which i was asked to sign. Well, what do you write in such a book at such a location . Have a nice day . With the burden of our history on my shoulders, i wrote a very terse comment. I wrote, we will never allow anyone to do this to us again. I remembered that in the course of world war ii 6 million jews were exterminated by the germans, and at auschwitz along 960,000 jews were killed. Auschwitz was located in the eastern part of the nazi empire. That meant it was vulnerable first and foremost to the red army along the eastern front. The german determination to complete their mission of extermination despite the advances of the russians caused the germans to transfer the inmates from auschwitz to other concentration camps further west and within the borders of the german state. That is what led jews from auschwitz to burgenvedlen on forced marches during the frigid winters of northern europe. Ann frank and her sister margo were moved in this way from auschwitz to where they both died. On a personal note, my motherinlaw, vina sherman, and her sister esther were relocated from auschwitz to bergenvelsen with thousands of others. Five days after the british army liberated them, a bbc reporter named Richard Dimblebee entered the camp and recorded the jewish prisoners rising up with their frail bodies on a friday night and breaking into a hebrew song which means the hope. They were reminding the world that their hope was 2,000 years old and dated back to when the jews lived as a free people in their own land. It was time for them to go home. Thats what they were saying. It became the National Anthem of the state of israel. Modern israel is committed to fighting antisemitism and defending jews worldwide, only today anti semitism is not just active in venezuela or remote areas of yemen, it is being revived in the heart of western civilization. In france, the United Kingdom and in germany as well as in the u. S. And canada. This new wave of antisemitism can be fought with legal tools and with education. Antisemitic incitement can have lethal consequences, so we ask our allies in the west to stand firm and help us vanquish hate speech and vanquish this phenomenon before it games further strength. I want to close with an observation as a former diplomat. We have a very important tool to fight this. In 1948 the International Community signed the Genocide Convention, and the Genocide Convention contains a specific clause outlawing incitement to genocide. When the iranian leadership spoke about wiping israel off the map, we convened a group of International Legal scholars to look into whether they had crossed the line of incitement to genocide. When i was in rwanda with the ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with their minister of Foreign Affairs, anyone who reads about the rwandan genocide will find that incitement to genocide was a key component. It was a warning signal that something is about to happen. So if we sharpen these tools and if we actually use them and not just leave them in textbooks at law schools, i believe we can take active measures to narrow, to constrain the use of hate speech and we can also combat directly the phenomenon, the spreading of antisemitism and other forms of hatred that are occurring today. Thank you. Thank you very much. Dr. Edna friedberg. Good morning. Thank you, madam chair, for your consistent leadership and service of holocaust memory and education and for having me here today. When i became a holocaust historian more than 20 years ago i thought i was dealing only with the past. I was so naive. Over the course of my career i have seen the veracity of the holocaust questioned. I have seen the very language and symbols of the nazis resurrected as weapons in new racist attacks. And as other witnesses have testified today, we are experiencing a resurgence in antisemitic violence and speech and racists of all types feel emboldened. You dont need to be jewish to be seriously alarmed by this dangerous trend. As a historian i can testify unequivocally that whenever antisemitism is expressed publicly and without shame an entire society is at risk. It is an indicator of poor health of a society. The holocaust did not begin with gas chambers. It started with words, with racist cartoons, with childrens books that taught girls and boys to be afraid of their jewish neighbors, with posters that portrayed jewish men and leering rapists threatening pure blonde women and girls. Hitler was obsessed with race long before becoming chancellor of germany. His speeches and writings spread his belief that the world was engaged in an endless racial struggle, and when the nazis came to power these beliefs became government ideology and were spread in posters, radio, movies, classrooms and newspapers. They also served as a basis for a campaign to reorder german society, first through the exclusion of jews from public life, then as well for the systematic murder of germans with mental and physical disabilities. Lets remember that the nazis did not seize power through a military coup or revolution. They rose as part of a powersharing agreement in a fledgling democracy. In order to make jewish persecution palatable nazi propagandists branded jews as a biological threat. Governmentsponsored racist propaganda denounced jews as aliens, as parasites and said they were responsible for germanys cultural, political and economic degeneration. These words had an enormous effect, creating an environment in which persecution and violence were not only acceptable but an imperative. Nazi propagandists built on existing stereotypes to directly link jews to the spread of disease like vermin as part of their racial campaign to, quote, cleanse Society Leaders implemented socalled racial hygiene policies to protect nonjews. For example in occupied pole and, nazi germany reinforced its policy of confining jews to urban zones known as ghettos by portraying jews as a Health Threat requiring quarantines. This approach was a selffulfilling prophecy. By deprieving the hundreds of thousands of human beings imprisoned in the ghettos of food, water, sanitation and medical care the nazis created a diseased population. Films show to children in school characterized jews as rats and such. On a side note, stereotypes that they are smarter than other people, good with money, wellconnected or powerful, these too draw on much older antisemitic conspiracy theories about global jewish domination. The nazis invoked links between jews and communism to ledge they were warmongers. Similar accusations are leveled against prominent jews around the world. In our own country during the nazi era celebrated americans like henry ford and Charles Lindbergh spread antijewish propaganda and characterized jews as an enemy element threatening United States interest. In august 2017 selfproclaimed white nationalists carried torches through charlottesville, virginia, to invoke nazi germany. In a charged contest, fire signals violence and destruction. The nazi regime began by carrying torches at rallies and by 1938 burning buildings and torah scrolls. Eventually it burnt the bodies of human beings. The word holocaust derives from the greek meaning sacrifice by fire. Marching with torches in the American South has an additional more specific resonance, nights of fire bombs and lynchings. Unlike in nazi germany, our country today has checks and balances to prevent racist violence from dominating our streets or laws. The torches carried during a nighttime march in an American University town two years ago deliberately echoed the smoke of an earlier racist and murderous era. In closing, hate speech and violence against yojews are canaries in the coal mine for health against democracy and civil society. A government that does not confront them does so at its own peril. My teenage nephew, bored and exasperated, once asked me, why cant jews ever stop talking about the holocaust . And speaking as the daughter of a survivor i had to take a deep breath before i answered him. His question really was, why do we study the holocaust . Why . Because it is the best documented crime in human history, one driven by genocidal racism. Lets heed its warning signs. Thank you. I want to thank all of the Witnesses Today for their very moving and important testimony. I want to thank all of you for appearing here today. I would like to begin my questions with mr. Shaffir. We are honored to have you here today and i was deeply moved by your testimony. You and your family suffered an incredible loss and showed incredible courage. I know that testifying today must be very difficult for you. So i want to ask you, given how difficult it is for you to relive this pain, why did you agree to come here and to tell your story . Why is it so important to you that other people hear this story . We need to share we need to share this historical tragedy. It is impossible for people to remember, and some of them probably will forget what happened, how many millions of people, innocent people were killed because they were jews or any other faith. If i dont speak out, if i dont share my information i will only have myself to be blamed at because i did not share my information. So thats one of the reasons why im here and trying to share my information as best as i can. Is there a single message that you would hope to convey to the american public, many of whom are watching on television, many of whom are members of the Younger Generation . What would that key message be you would like to convey to them . The message i would like to convey is really i can summarize that in two words, two powerful words. Speak out. It is very important that we do not remain silent. Monday of this week we passed overwhelmingly Bipartisan Legislation to provide additional funding to give students the opportunity to learn from people, survivors. This bill would also expand the Educational Program of the Holocaust Museum. I understand that you work at the Holocaust Museum. Is that correct . Yes, i doch. I am a docent and i have been for ten years. I take tourists, and tourists from Law Enforcement agencies to ensure it never happens again. Could you tell us why the Education Programs at museums are so important to help Education Future generations . In the 1930s and 1940s we had one common enemy, it was hitler. Today we have a new enemy, it is time. Unfortunately, all of us are getting older. Many of us are dying out. I am one of the younger ones and i am 83 years old. I dont know how long i can live, so if we dont tell the story, if we dont do something about that, obviously we need to educate young people. Right now i still have my voice. Once im gone, i need the Younger Generation to be our voices. Why do you think it is so important that our nation remember the lessons of the holocaust . Why do you think it is so important that we dont forget about it, that it is not manufactured or ignored or altered . If you dont remember the past, our future will look very blight. Unfortunately, i wear a pin with four letters on it. It has two meanings. One, remember. The other, dont forget. The first, remember, remember the atrocities the nazis committed against the innocent people, and then dont forget all of these that perished. We need to remember all of these things and pass on to our children and our grandchildren so they will not forget. I want to thank you for your very moving testimony. And you know better than any of us what can happen when hate is allowed to flourish. As our committee continues to examine the threat of White Supremacy in the weeks and months ahead with the other hearings we have scheduled, we are fortunate to have your perspective and we are very grateful for your time and for your testimony. Thank you. Thank you. I will now recognize mr. Hice, jody hice for his questions. Thank you, madam chair. Thank you to each of our witnesses for being here today. Ambassador gold, let me begin with you. During this past octobers democratic debate president ial candidate Bernie Sanders stated that in his opinion the u. S. Should, quote, leverage military aid to israel in order to manufacture changes to israeli domestic policy, specifically as it relates to the to gaza. He was saying we need to withhold funds for that. Do you believe that kind of action would be helpful . Turn on your mike, please. It is not my interest to jump into american domestic politics, but at the same time one has to understand what is in gaza. What is in gaza today are people who are miserable, who have been taken over by one of the most hateful organizations on earth. It is called hamas. It has allies like Islamic Jihad and other groups. Putting leverage on israel is mixing up the firemen with the fire and will not produce a more stable outcome. I want to say that i am very optimistic about the middle east as a whole, and there are arab states that see eyetoeye with israel about the need to extinguish hatred, the need to Work Together to build a better region. We are seeing evidence for the first time of senior arab diplomats who will go to pole apoland and visit auschwitz. Thats something that didnt happen before. I totally agree with that. Lets encourage that and not hairbrained schemes to put pressure on israel by denying military assistance. I agree with you. The answer is no, it would not be helpful to withhold military aid to israel. Thank you for putting it succinctly. Madam chairwoman county i would request that the article with those committee be submitted to the record. Okay. It is a quid pro quo. Provided israel will make some changes, and it is interesting to me who that came through is really what the democrat many of my colleagues have been claiming is an Impeachable Offense in itself. Mr. Greenblatt, let me go to you. This past weekend a member of this very committee tweeted an unsubstantiated claim that israelis actually kidnapped and killed a 7yearold palestinian boy. You confronted this claim on twitter as, quote, a vicious lie. You also called it blood libel and, of course, the incident was proven false. The words themselves i suppose are not necessarily antisemitic but indirectly they certainly are. They were unsubstantiated, they were reckless, they were troubling, they were proven false. Do you believe these comments are at all helpful . Mr. Congressman, thank you for the question. So the blood libel, the accusation that jews are responsible for the murder of children, gentile children, nonjewish children, christian or muslim, has followed jews for centuries across europe and the middle east. It has been used to demonize them. It has been used as the basis for persecution, for progroms, for slaughter. Really going back almost 1,000 years to england in the medieval times. So as the head of the adl, an organization thats been fighting antisemitism in all forms of hatred over 100 years, i will call out accusations like the blood libel whenever and wherever they happen. I think it is important to note that the use of the blood libel and these antisemitic slurs, we shouldnt use them as political or partisan weapons. I will call it out, whoever says it, whenever it happens, on the basis of the fact that hate is unacceptable, period. At a time when antisemitic incidents are on the rise, when i have spent a fair amount of energy paying respects to the victims of hate crimes in pittsburgh, in san diego, in new jersey, in new york, we shouldnt tolerate when anyone from either side engages in that kind of behavior. Thank you. Madam chair, again, i would ask to be added to the record unanimous consent, mr. Greenblatts reply to this accusation and an article that explains it. I thank you. So granted. I yield. Tom malinowski as a member of our delegation, without objection, the gentleman from new jersey will be added to the panel. Thank you. Now i recognize the gentlemen woman from if District Of Columbia norton for questions. Thank you, madam chair. I want to thank you especially for holding this hearing today on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. I particularly thank the witnesses who agreed to appear today. I want to say to mr. Shelton that i think it was perfectly appropriate to have a high representative of the naacp on this panel. First, to indicate that hate appears to be of a piece. I would high both size thypothe someone who hates jews you will also find he hates africanamericans. As we keep that web together we perhaps can understand the latest fbi statistics. The most frequently targeted group for hate offenses is africanamericans. 47 of hate offenses are motivated by race or ethnicity or ancestry. That may be because theyre looking at people they cant identify by those characteristics. Perhaps in recent times the most notorious of the hate crimes was the dylan ruth of an africanamerican church in south carolina, the Oldest Church in the south, during bible study. I dont know if he chose the church and the time, but the symbolism cannot be lost on any of us. I am concerned with the increase in antisemitism and want to know where in the world does this come from. Why wasnt there an increase ten years ago . Mr. Shelton, do you see a relationship between an increase in antisemitic and antisemitism, antisemitic attacks and the increase i just spoke of, the increase in hate offenses motivated by race or ethnicity . Absolutely. The ideology shared as we look at those who committed these horrific crimes is so very similar. As a matter of fact, as we listen to those who made presentations about various experiences of the Jewish Community i sat there checking off boxes of the same strategies so often utilized against africanamericans, whether you are vilifying africanamerican men, somehow deciding theyre all going to be racist and violent rapists as well. We have heard the same stories told about what happened, the thing happening to the jewish men in the ghettos and the same language. We are seeing an increase in the same organizations that hate africanamericans and hate Jewish Americans and anyone that is not white anglosaxon as a matter of fact in our society, carrying forward the ideologies of the third reich. The similarities are clearly there. As we look at the hate crime data shared with us by the justice department, making sure we have categories to cover all of the areas and seeing very well the increases are consistent regardless of the group you are talking about, and certainly the experiences of the Africanamerican Community are extremely similar to those of the Jewish Community. Mr. Greenblatt, there has been a long, special relationship between American Jews and africanamericans. In fact, the only whites who have consistently been vocal and active are in the civil rights movement, and with respect to matters having nothing to do with themselves but on race alone have been American Jews. That special relationship is long, even to the founding i think, mr. Shelton, of the naacp itself where among the founders were American Jews. Could i ask you, in light of your own work, what has the Antidefamation League found about threats and increases, threats and violence against africanamericans and the relationship and what do you think can be done about the rise of antisemitism and racist attacks going on at the same time . Congressman, thank you for the question. I think first and foremost i would reinforce what you said. The relationship between Jewish Americans and africanamericans is long and deep. There is a shared history of suffering. There is a shared history of diaspora, if you will. As the holocaust was a Pivotal Moment in the modern jewish experience, so as enslavement was a Pivotal Moment for africanamericans, and i think understanding our shared suffering has been critical towards the success weve had together. I am proud of the fact that ben epstein, who is the head of the adl in the 50s and 60s stood and marched with dr. King in selma. Im proud of the fact we filed an ameek us brief in brown v. Board of education and joined the naacp in doing that. Im proud we work today on so many issues together. Because make no mistake, from charleston to charlottesville to pittsburgh to poway, there is a throughline. White supremacy is a violent threat against all marginalized groups. The people, as my colleague hillary sa hilary said, who hate jews hate africanamericans, simply because they and we are different from their majority view. Theres a lot work to be done. I would commend congresswoman lawrence and congresswoman wassermanschultz for helping to start the bipartisan caucus on relations. I had the privilege of addressing a group of legislators two years ago with my friend from the naacp. There is so much work to do. At adl we were founded after a you wish man was lynched in 1913. He was lynched after having been falsely accused of a crime, essentially a blood libel of murdering a christian girl. What i would note is that when that man was lynched, leo frank, the founders of adl wrote a charter for this new organization, and in it are the words we still use today as our mission statement. What they wrote was that this organization would, quote, stop defamation of the jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all. The gentlemans time has expired. I will say what they realized was you cant defend American Jews unless you defend allamericans. We are deeply committed to that mission 100 years later today. I recognize the gentleman woman from North Carolina, dr. Virginia foxx, for her questions. She has additional time as additional time was taken on our side. I yield to virginia. Thank you very much, madam chairman. I want to thank our witnesses for being here today. I dont think it is possible that we could overstate the tragedy of the holocaust. I just dont think it is possible that we can do that. Any kind of hate is unacceptable. Any kind of discrimination is unacceptable. I believe that that is how the people on my side of the aisle feel and we feel it every day and express it every day. So i want to say having hearings and reminding people of what has happened is appropriate for us to do. Mr. Greenblatt, on december 11, 2019, President Trump signed an executive order to combat antisemitism on College Campuses. Does the adl support this order . Congresswoman, thank you for the question. So the executive order that the president signed into law was based on a bipartisan piece of legislation, the antisemitism awareness act that we, indeed, did support. That i should note the antisemitism awareness act was based on rulings that came out of the Education Department under president s bush and president obama and, indeed, i think this executive order affirms the definition of the holocaust and the definition of antisemitism, excuse me, specifically developed by academics from a number of different countries. So we do support i need a simple yes or no . Yes, we support it. Thank you. Thank you very much for that. Ambassador gold, the Simon Wiesenthal produced a list of antisemitism and antiisrael incidents. Unfortunately it seems antisemitism is still alive and well. In december we have all spoken about or mentioned the numerous attacks against jews during the hanukkah season. Do you believe and know that the number of antisemitic attacks is on the rise and do you believe that social media platforms have provided greater access for people to spread antisemitism . I am completely aware of the number of antisemitic incidents around the world, is on the rise. I am also aware that as much as social media platforms can be great vehicles for education and mutual awareness, they are us being used by some of the most vile organizations in the world to spread hatred. Attention between free speech and incitement to killing is a real tension that lawyers and scholars have to work out. Israel is a democratic society. The United States is a democratic society, and we cherish our democracy and free speech, but we cannot provide a vehicle that allows the spread of hatred. At my center i run since i left government, we have been examining how the internet is used by radical islamic organizations, particularly in canada, and theyre spreading antisemitism. Our representative in canada has found a way to present the information to the canadian authorities. You have to use your legal system to combat this and you have to, you know, shine your flashlight on where this is coming from. I have another question for you. Are white neo nazis the only ones perpetrating antisemitic attacks . Where else do you see hotbeds of antisemitism . You just mentioned canada. Is it fair to say that antisemitism is prevalent across all races and genders . I believe it is evident among all races and all genders and has to be fought and combatted regardless of its point of origin. Id asked about do you see hotbeds. You mentioned canada. Are there other hotbeds of antisemitism that your group has recognized and that we should be aware of . Weve done a lot of work on the United Kingdom, on britain, and there are real Serious Problems of antisemitism, and we have seen it enter into parliamentary life in uk, much to the horror of all of us who always looked to britain as a beacon of democracy. So theres a lot of work to be done worldwide. Let me assure you that i come from an area of North Carolina in this country where we have great reverence for the people of israel and for all jews. As you know, most christians feel that the jews are gods chosen people and that it is our place to support israel. So do you have ideas to follow up on what you just said on why antisemitism knows no racial ethnic, gender, geographic boundaries when we have historically those of us who are very strong christians felt so positively towards israel and towards the jewish people . Well, that is not the kind of question i can answer on one leg, but it does indicate that weve got work to do. Weve got work to research. Weve got to find where it is coming from, and then we have to make recommendations of how it can be dealt with. But we cant just sit back and let it happen. It is getting much worse. Not good for the jewish people worldwide and it is also terrible for the countries where it is occurring. You know, i will just tell you this. I was heavily involved in israels efforts in 2016 to restore diplomatic ties and political activity across the continent of africa, and i remember sitting with the foreign minister of rwanda. She told me, doorre, you have o hard nut to crack. I dont know, i thought she was talking about libya. She was talking about south africa which is led by a Political Party which has been fathering the whole bbs movement, which has now spread worldwide. I nonetheless persisted in trying to reach out to south africa and will continue to do so. Thank you, madam chairman, you have been very tolerant and i appreciate it. I yield back. Thank you. I now recognize raja krishnamoorthi. Thank you, chairwoman madam chair, thank you. I want to thank all of our witnesses for appearing here today, and especially mr. Shaffir. Thank you for your very moving personal story. I would like to start with mr. Orsini and ask you a few questions about what happened on october 27th, 2018 at the tree of life synagogue. That day, as you mentioned, a man armed with an Assault Rifle and three handguns stormed the tree of life congregation, shouting antisemitic slurs as he slaughtered 11 worshippers. As you know, that was the deadliest assault against the Jewish Community in american history. Mr. Orsini, at the time of the attack you were working as a director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation of pittsburgh, isnt that right . Yes, sir. Could you just spend a minute talking about the impact of this tragedy on the community and the congregation since the attack . That attack not only affected the Squirrel Hill section of pittsburgh or jews in pittsburgh but the entire city. Imagine, we live in a day and age now where we have to think about protection in a house of worship when you go there as the most vulnerable as you can be and you get gunned down. Since that shooting the tree of life, the new light, the three congregation that prayed in that synagogue is still affected. The entire Jewish Community has been affected. The effects of that shooting are longlasting and theyre not going away any time soon. It is important in our community and in pittsburgh to make our folks feel safe so they can get back in to worship, no matter what denomination it is. Children worshipped that attack, right . Pardon me . Children were present on that day and witnesses the attack . To my knowledge there were no children in there, but there were enough people in there to witness that horrific attack, yes. What has been the impact on children generally since the attack . Well, it is very important to us in pittsburgh at the time after that attack, was to work a very quick resolution. What i mean by that is it was important for us to get our kids back in school, get our jewish facilities, our day schools, our preschools and work with our community to get them back in there. It is a longlasting effect. I went from school to school, preschool to preschool to talk to parents about how terrified their children were, how terrified children, students and, quite honestly, adults were just to walk to synagogue. We had to work hard, as we do every day, to make them resilient and strong, and we continue to do that. But the Jewish Community, unfortunately, is a targeted community. Let me jump in. I think one of the things that probably folks everywhere understand is that regardless of whether you were in pittsburgh or not, i think folks who worship at synagogues feared, you know, going to their synagogues for a long time after this particular incident. I want to switch gears a little bit and i would like to hear your views on what do you think the role of Holocaust Education plays in hate Crime Prevention generally . I think it is paramount. The city of pittsburgh is one of the few cities and it may be the only city in the country right now that requires its Police Department and call deaths training to go to the Holocaust Center and spend time there prior to going out on the street. It is a model based after the national Holocaust Museum. The only other group that i know is fbi agents that go through there. It is so important for Holocaust Education to continue and it needs to start in middle school up. How can the federal government best support either this type of educational awareness or hate Crime Prevention generally at the local level . I think at the local level theres several things. Quite honestly, it takes money. It takes Human Capital and it takes time. Holocaust education in my view is important to be mandated in Public Schools, in education platforms. We have to never forget. Teach our community what happened there and what rises out of hate. I think for our community and the Jewish Community it is ever so important. I have worked civil rights in the fbi for many years. I was the civil rights coordinator. I worked hate crimes for numerous years. Hate is generational. We need to be on the ground floor of children, educating them on hate, what happened in the holocaust, what hate does. I think i just wanted to finish. Im all out of time but i want to underscore that last point which is that i think to end hate, because it is generational, you have to start with the kids and you have to teach them that antisemitism, islamophobia, hatred of all kinds is not right, and that i think that we at the federal level have to support that. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. I now recognize the gentleman from kentucky, mr. James comer, for questions. Thank you, madam chair. Thank all of the witnesses for being here today. Mr. Shaffir, i really appreciate your testimony. Every time we have a tour group from kentucky come, we always recommend the Holocaust Museum. I think of all of the great museums in washington thats the most special museum, the most moving, the most Educational Museum that makes such a difference. We have not had anyone say anything but how much they were touched by that museum. Ambassador gold, i would like to focus my questions on israeli policy. Can you explain how dangerous iran is to israel and why the goal Golan Heights are so necessary to israels defense . Hit the microphone. Iran is a country which a co which is under a theocratic regime, which has stated its determination to destroy the state of israel. In my institute, but the government has done this as well, we have collected statements made by the iranian leadership, right across the board. Military leadership, civilian leadership, which calls for wiping israel off the map. Now, the question is, is this just rhetoric to show off or is there something behind it . So ill give you a very specific example. In the Iranian Armed forces, there is a missile called the shahab3, which can strike israel from iranian territory. Up until recently, its 800mile range missile. Up until recently, the iranians have only put conventional warheads in this missile. But now they are aiming to replace the conventional warheads, according to documents that israel has, with a future nuclear warhead. Now, those with missiles are paraded on the air in tehran, and on the missile as well as sometimes on the missile carrier, they write israel must be wiped off the map. So what they do is they juxtapose their intentions with the military capability that they are building. And by the way, its not going to just stop with israel. Theyll go much further. So our concern about iran is first and foremost its Nuclear Weapons program. Which we dont see having been altered by the jcpoa, but as a program, it has probably gotten much worse. That leads me to my next question. Lets focus on the president s americanisraeli policy. Have President Trumps actions such as withdrawing from the nuclear deal and eliminating International Terrorist soleimani made israel safer in your opinion . Youre talking about the elimination of Qassam Soleimani . The commander of the quds force . Right. One of the most gratifying International Acts that i undertook before i returned to working for the government of israel, i had set up a dialogue. Im going to answer your question. Okay. I set up a dialogue with a saudi general, and we had this dialogue going on between his think tank and my think tank in jerusalem. We used to meet in rome. And at one point, he said to me, how would you like to go to the u. S. Congress with me and lobby against the jcpoa . I said, you know, i agree with your intentions. I think its a bad idea to lobby here on capitol hill out of the interest of saudi arabia and the interest of israel. But we are think tanks. And theres nothing that prohibits us from going to a think tank in the United States and voicing our views. And thats exactly what we did. We were invited by the council on Foreign Relations here in washington. He appeared and spoke in arabic. I spoke in english, and the whole place was filled with american press. Im telling you that because the threat to israel is a threat to many of our neighbors in the region who are slowly but surely becoming our friends. And a new Security Architecture for the middle east is now growing. As a result of that perception of shared security threat. And i think we have to build on that, but that has also given me optimism about many of my neighbors. We can become not just friends but allies. And hopefully that is something which we can work on with the Trump Administration and with the american National Security bureau of bureaucracy. I now recognize the gentleman from maryland, mr. Jamie raskin, for questions. Thank you, madam chair. Mr. Greenblatt, you have spoken out against tweets or retweets by democratic members of congress that circulate intentionally or not, antisemitic tropes. You have spoken out strongly against the tv commercial run by donald trump in the 2016 president ial election that attacked janet yellen, george soros, and Lloyd Blankfein as globalists and essentially enemies of the american people. I think you have spoken out also against outrageous moral equivalents manifested by President Trump stating there were very fine people on both sides in the events that took place in charlottesville. But what is the importance of speaking out against antisemitism wherever youre seeing it, wherever you see it, and not permitting it to be a partisan weapon . Thank you for the question, congressman. Indeed, youre correct. We have spoken out consistently, and i would say clearly and cogently, in response to antisemitism from both sides of the political aisle. Were living in a moment in time when extremists feel emboldened because the talking points of radicals are jumping off the pages of their propaganda and into the talking poinls ing po elected officials. Theres absolutely no excuse for it. So we call it whenever and happens and wherever it happens, in large part because we want to make sure that elected officials and political candidates understand they shouldnt use antisemitism or any form of hate for partisan gain. I wrote a letter to Congress Last year specifically asking this body to prevent the tendency from using these kinds of tropes again to gain or to make score political points. And ill say in closing, in referencing a comment of dr. Friedberg made. Antisemitism is not just a jewish problem. Its everyones problem because it is typically historically a sign of the decay of democracy. It is a tool that populists use to press their own authoritarian agendas. So we have got to have the moral courage and the intellectual honesty to call it out whenever it happens, no matter who says it. I thank you for that. And i think that in our country, antisemitism and racism both are the gateway to destruction of liberal democracy and equal rights for all of our people, so i want to thank all of the members of the panel for underscoring the importance of historical memory as to all of the events that have taken place, assaulting the rights of minorities, going back to the dispossession in violence against native americans in our country and our experience with slavery as well as all of the horrific events that took place in the last century, with respect to antisemitism. I wanted to say this, i have been reading a book by Christopher Wylie called Cambridge Analytica and the plot to break america about Vladimir Putins plan to inject racial, ethnic, religious, and partisan poison into our body politic in the 2016 election. And beyond. And i think its a very scary book in some ways. But ultimately, i find it to be an unlifting book because were not a racist country, the country that elected barack obama president. Were not an antisemitic country. But there was a very deliberate effort to propagandize and to activate the most unstable and extremist elements of the country. And even if thats 1 of the american people, thats still a few Million People. And it bore fruit for Vladimir Putin in a lot of different ways, but certainly in what took place in charlottesville where you had americans marching right out in the open as nazis, klansmen, fascists. In our country, so i want to ask a question about online hatred and these efforts to go out and find people using what Cambridge Analytica called the dark triad of narcissism, machiavellianism, and people going out to project hate. Even if the vast majority of the country doesnt stand for it, whats the proper response to it . I dont know if mr. Orsini and mr. Shaffir have thoughts about it. Let me begin by saying as we look at these challenges and these problems, it is important that we point out how similar they are. How the strategies, the ideologies that are used to lace these together are so clear and clean, if you separate them out, you see that as we think about the attacks on africanamericans as we look at the whole slavery experience, we know it was done as a tool to be able to marginalize africanamericans, to be able to continue to take advantage and again seek whatever the spoils is they wanted along those lines and what would be perceived as an acceptable way. When we think about the attacks on our jewish friends, going after them because of their beliefs and their commitments, the same thing applies