Tina Smith: “I rise today to speak on the work of the Helsinki Commission. The Helsinki Commission yesterday held an important…”

“I rise today to speak on the work of the Helsinki Commission. The Helsinki Commission yesterday held an important hearing on combating anti-Semitism in the OSCE region. I would like to commend the two panelists who testified, Professor Gert Weisskirchen, MP and Dr. Kathrin Meyer. Professor Weisskirchen serves as the OSCE's chair-in-office personal representative on anti-Semitism, and Dr. Meyer serves as the advisor on anti-Semitism issues in the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and human rights. Both of these scholars have been fighting against anti-Semitism for years, and their good work should be recognized. Modern anti-Semitism is an appalling relic of a past horror; and though it is not yet as acceptable as in ages past, its resurgence today is no less troubling. We forget, sometimes, just how much the world is indebted to the Jewish community. The world's culture has been immeasurably enriched by Jewish writers, scientists, artists, philosophers, and medical pioneers. All those contributions, however, mattered little when the shadow of fascism fell across Europe, and European nations began to destroy some of their most valuable sons and daughters. We may have thought that the horrors of World War Two and the Holocaust had finally cauterized the old festering sore of anti-Semitism. And indeed, for some years, that seemed to be the case.…”