Political Quotes

“There is a quotation that is familiar that is brought to my attention this afternoon as we are debating this, and it has echoes for today. It is by Martin Niemoller, who was a Lutheran pastor in Germany; and this is what he said: ``First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.'' Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity to do something good today, to build on the work that Congressman Smith has initiated and that has been shepherded through this process by Chairman Royce and by Ranking Member Engel; and that is to recognize the growing rise of anti-Semitism around the world and to say, we are not only not going to be complicit in it, we are going to speak out about it, and we are going to bring attention to it, and we are going to bring the full force and power of the United States Government and its moral authority and its imprimatur on this issue. There is real power in that. You have heard both sides going back and forth sort of being reminded of this responsibility that we have because we have seen anti-Semitism, Mr. Speaker, arise within the last year alone in Germany, in Brazil, in France, in Hungary, and in New Zealand.…”