Political Quotes

“I rise today as cochair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, which just relaunched this week with over half the Senate as Members. I am speaking out because Jewish-Americans and Jews across the globe are in danger. They are in danger because we are experiencing a worldwide surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes and violence. In communities across America, Jews have been threatened, they have been verbally accosted, and brutally assaulted. Anti-Semitism has long been the canary in the coal mine of hatred. History teaches us that when anti-Semitism takes hold, democracy itself is imperiled. This issue has reared its ugly head in recent years, particularly in the past month. According to the ADL, anti-Semitic incidents in May were double what they were during the same period last year. Over the past few weeks, we have seen horrendous attacks on Jewish communities. In New York, fireworks were hurled at a crowd of Jewish-Americans. In Los Angeles, Jewish diners were attacked. One response I saw to a recent desecration of a synagogue in Arizona has stuck with me. The response said ``the amount of Jewish hate isn't shocking. The silence is.'' Those who committed these egregious acts wanted to send a message. They wanted to say that Jews have no place here. And it is critical that we send a clear and forceful message back.…”