On the recordSeptember 12, 2018
I thank my friend, Ranking Member Engel. I rise in support of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti- Semitism Act, and I thank Congressman Chris Smith for leading this bill and all of my colleagues for their support. It has been more than a year and a half since this administration came into office, and this position remains vacant. Aside from some rumors around Washington, we don't know when this role will be filled. This position was created in 2004 with bipartisan support. I am sure my colleagues would agree that Congress doesn't pass laws for them to be ignored. It is imperative that there is someone at the State Department working to combat anti-Semitism globally. They should be working with Jewish communities, building coalitions, tracking cases, and pushing governments to do more to combat it. We need someone who will be our Nation's leading global advocate to combat anti-Semitism. We are seeing Jewish communities outside the United States and Israel shrink because they no longer feel safe in their own cities. We are hearing truly appalling stories, horrific stories like the Holocaust survivor who was brutally murdered in her apartment. We are feeling the hate speech rise, whether by politicians on extreme sides of the political spectrum or individuals empowered and amplified by social media. We urgently need someone in our government charged with addressing this scourge.…
