A group of 104 prominent Americans in the religious, political, academic and entertainment worlds sent a letter last week to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell challenging the State Department's opposition to a bill mandating an annual report on anti-Semitism around the world. The group, coordinated by former Congressman Stephen Solarz and the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, wrote that the fight against anti-Semitism deserves "specific, focused attention," and said that Powell should support the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act H.R. 4230, authored by Cong. Tom Lantos (D-Cal.).
Among the signatories are former Secretary of Housing and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, former Ambassador to the U.N. Jeane Kirkpatrick, and leaders of four top Christian religious seminaries, including the Union Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School.
The Lantos bill, which has 34 sponsors, would require the State Department to compile an annual report on anti-Semitism around the world, and make it the responsibility of a specific State Department office to focus on the issue.
The letter states, "The State Department's position on the Lantos legislation carries troubling echoes of the past... During the Holocaust, the State Department did its best to downplay the Jewish identity of Hitler's victims - even though the Nazi regime had clearly singled out Jews for annihilation. Statements by U.S. officials about Nazi atrocities seldom mentioned the Jews. This made it harder for the American public to understand what was happening and hindered efforts to rally public support for rescue of Jews from Hitler."
The State Department's position is that implementation of the bill could "erode our credibility by being interpreted as favoritism in human rights reporting," and might create an "inappropriate stand-alone situation for one group."
Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the Wyman Institute - located on the campus of Gratz College, near Philadelphia - responded, "The State Department already has a number of offices that extend 'exclusive status' to groups or issues of concern, among them offices on Tibet, Human Trafficking and women's rights. It is the anti-Semites who are singling out Jews, and that is why the fight against anti-Semitism deserves specific, focused attention. The Lantos bill is a timely and appropriate response to the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe, where it frequently turns violent, and in the Arab and Muslim world where it is government-sponsored."
Lantos himself, the only Holocaust survivor serving in the Congress, is also not happy with Powell's position. "I'm unaware of a global upsurge of anti-Episcopalian feeling," he said sarcastically. "Since there is a wave of anti-Semitism from Denmark to Australia, [that] the State Department won't take a strong stand on this, I find it outrageous... The notion that Jews are singled out for special and preferential treatment is sort of insane. Jews are singled out for persecution, and we need to prevent that."
The letter also states that Secretary Powell's strong statements at the Berlin conference on anti-Semitism earlier this year "gave us hope that our government has learned from the terrible silence of the State Department regarding anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act offers an opportunity for your strong words to be translated into policy."
A compromise may be in the works, as the State Department has said it does not oppose a similar bill that passed the Senate in May and that calls for a one-time report on global anti-Semitism. It also requires the department to document anti-Semitic acts in its annual reports on international religious freedom and human rights. The House of Representatives may pass a version of the bill that is closer to Lantos' version.
Among the signatories are former Secretary of Housing and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, former Ambassador to the U.N. Jeane Kirkpatrick, and leaders of four top Christian religious seminaries, including the Union Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School.
The Lantos bill, which has 34 sponsors, would require the State Department to compile an annual report on anti-Semitism around the world, and make it the responsibility of a specific State Department office to focus on the issue.
The letter states, "The State Department's position on the Lantos legislation carries troubling echoes of the past... During the Holocaust, the State Department did its best to downplay the Jewish identity of Hitler's victims - even though the Nazi regime had clearly singled out Jews for annihilation. Statements by U.S. officials about Nazi atrocities seldom mentioned the Jews. This made it harder for the American public to understand what was happening and hindered efforts to rally public support for rescue of Jews from Hitler."
The State Department's position is that implementation of the bill could "erode our credibility by being interpreted as favoritism in human rights reporting," and might create an "inappropriate stand-alone situation for one group."
Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the Wyman Institute - located on the campus of Gratz College, near Philadelphia - responded, "The State Department already has a number of offices that extend 'exclusive status' to groups or issues of concern, among them offices on Tibet, Human Trafficking and women's rights. It is the anti-Semites who are singling out Jews, and that is why the fight against anti-Semitism deserves specific, focused attention. The Lantos bill is a timely and appropriate response to the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe, where it frequently turns violent, and in the Arab and Muslim world where it is government-sponsored."
Lantos himself, the only Holocaust survivor serving in the Congress, is also not happy with Powell's position. "I'm unaware of a global upsurge of anti-Episcopalian feeling," he said sarcastically. "Since there is a wave of anti-Semitism from Denmark to Australia, [that] the State Department won't take a strong stand on this, I find it outrageous... The notion that Jews are singled out for special and preferential treatment is sort of insane. Jews are singled out for persecution, and we need to prevent that."
The letter also states that Secretary Powell's strong statements at the Berlin conference on anti-Semitism earlier this year "gave us hope that our government has learned from the terrible silence of the State Department regarding anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act offers an opportunity for your strong words to be translated into policy."
A compromise may be in the works, as the State Department has said it does not oppose a similar bill that passed the Senate in May and that calls for a one-time report on global anti-Semitism. It also requires the department to document anti-Semitic acts in its annual reports on international religious freedom and human rights. The House of Representatives may pass a version of the bill that is closer to Lantos' version.