WASHINGTON (JTA) – The U.S. Senate introduced a bipartisan resolution addressing the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.
The measure introduced Wednesday calls on government officials to work with the European Union and European governments to stop the increase in anti-Semitic acts by designating senior-level special envoys to combat and monitor anti-Semitism, enhancing national strategies by training law enforcement officers, and making sure relevant data are collected.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, authored the resolution, which has 53 cosponsors.
“Seventy years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we are witnessing an alarming rise in anti-Semitic sentiment in Europe that must be condemned and addressed,” Menendez said. He called the attacks “a challenge not only to international stability and security, but to our shared morality as human beings.”
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the resolution “will show the world that violence and hatred will not be tolerated.” He called on the Senate to pass the resolution so that “leaders across Europe will heed this call and agree to come together and work with the United States to push back against the rising tide of anti-Semitism.”
Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, expressed concern about the resurgence of “anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere, along with rising xenophobia, Islamophobia and other forms of hatred” and praised Congress for standing up to bigotry and hatred.
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