Senators to push bipartisan bill to curb European anti-Semitism
Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Marco Rubio reintroduce measure to make State Department monitor incidents against Jews in Europe
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WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate duo reintroduced legislation Tuesday that aims to curb growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) are reigniting the push to pass the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act, which requires the State Department to monitor incidents against Jews in Europe and submit its findings to Congress as part of its annual International Religious Freedom report.
The text calls on the the department to brief Capitol Hill on the security situation of Europe’s various Jewish communities and what actions the US government is taking to work with its regional allies to combat systematic anti-Semitism and harassment.
It also pressures European governments to “adopt and apply a working definition of anti-Semitism.”
“I continue to be alarmed by the steady increase in anti-Semitism in America and Europe,” said Kaine, who along with Rubio serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “We must be vigilant in reporting any incidents of anti-Semitism to ensure the safety, security and inalienable rights of Jewish communities.”
The legislation was first introduced in the House chamber last year by the Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting anti-Semitism, which included New York Rep. Nita Lowey (D), Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), New York Rep. Eliot Engel (D), Texas Rep. Kay Granger and others.
Bringing the motion back for consideration in the Senate, Rubio cited the uptick in recent years of harassment and vandalism of Jewish institutions throughout the continent.
“The recent harassment and violence occurring throughout Europe against Jews in schools and synagogues, as well as a number of governments amplifying anti-Semitic messages, are profoundly concerning,” he said.
This week, a regional court in Germany ruled that an attempt in 2014 to burn a Wuppertal synagogue by three men of Palestinian descent was not an act of anti-Semitism, but an attempt to criticize Israeli policies.
In 2015, a record number of French Jews emigrated to Israel, according to Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption estimates. The roughly 8,000 who moved to Israel marked an increase of 1,000 from the number who left France for the Jewish state the year before.
Data for 2016 is not yet available.
The Times of Israel Community.