COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE OSCE REGION: TAKING STOCK OF THE SITUATION TODAY HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION DECEMBER 2, 2011 Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe [CSCE 112–1–13] ( Available via http://www.csce.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 92–729 PDF WASHINGTON : 2015 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland, Chairman Co-Chairman JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama TOM UDALL, New Mexico PHIL GINGREY, Georgia JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia New York MARCO RUBIO, Florida MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire STEVE COHEN, Tennessee EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS MICHAEL H. POSNER, Department of State MICHAEL C. CAMUN˜ EZ, Department of Commerce ALEXANDER VERSHBOW, Department of Defense (II) COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE OSCE REGION: TAKING STOCK OF THE SITUATION TODAY DECEMBER 2, 2011 COMMISSIONERS Page Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, Commission on Secu- rity and Cooperation in Europe .............................................. 1 Hon. Steve Cohen, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe ..................................................... 3 MEMBERS Hon. Eliot Engel (D–16), a Member of Congress from the State of New Jersey ................................................................. 33 Hon. Trent Franks (R–8), a Member of Congress from the State of Arizona ....................................................................... 34 Hon. Frank Wolf (R–10), a Member of Congress from the State of Virginia ...................................................................... 38 WITNESSES Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, U.S. Department of State ............................. 5 Rabbi Andrew Baker, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chair-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism ....................... 7 Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations, Simon Wiesenthal Center ................................................................... 20 Mark Levin, Executive Director, National Conference on So- viet Jewery ............................................................................... 23 Eric Fusfield, International Director of Legislative Affairs, B’nai B’rith International ....................................................... 27 Stacy Burdett, Director of Government and National Affairs, Anti-Defamation League ......................................................... 30 (III) IV Page APPENDICES Prepared statement of Hon. Christopher H. Smith ................. 50 Prepared statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin .................... 51 Prepared statement of Hannah Rosenthal ................................ 52 Prepared statement of Rabbi Andrew Baker ............................ 57 Prepared statement of Shimon Samuels ................................... 61 Prepared statement of Mark Levin ........................................... 81 Prepared statement of Eric Fusfield ......................................... 85 Prepared statement of Stacy Burdett ........................................ 88 Materials for the Record ............................................................. 128 COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE OSCE REGION: TAKING STOCK OF THE SITUATION TODAY December 2, 2011 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE WASHINGTON, DC The hearing was held at 10 a.m. in room 2203, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, presiding. Commissioners present: Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Hon. Steve Cohen, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Coopera- tion in Europe. Members present: Hon. Eliot Engel (D–16), a Member of Congress from the State of New Jersey; Hon. Trent Franks (R–8), a Member of Congress from the State of Arizona; and Hon. Frank Wolf (R–10), a Member of Congress from the State of Virginia. Witnesses present: Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, U.S. Department of State; Rabbi An- drew Baker, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chair-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism; Stacy Burdett, Director of Govern- ment and National Affairs, Anti-Defamation League; Mark Levin, Executive Director, National Conference on Soviet Jewery; Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations, Simon Wiesenthal Center; and Eric Fusfield, International Director of Legislative Af- fairs, B’nai B’rith International. HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE Mr. SMITH. The hearing of the Helsinki Commission will come to order. And I want to welcome and thank, express thanks to our witnesses and everyone for joining us at this very important hear- ing. Almost a decade ago, in May of 2002, I chaired a Helsinki Commission hearing focused on the horrifying spike in anti- Semitism making itself through much of the OSCE region. Many of our witnesses today testified at that hearing, which put the issue of combating anti-Semitism on the top of the OSCE’s agenda, resulting in OSCE commitments on fighting anti-Semitism and a series of high-level annual conferences on combating anti- Semitism, and even led to the creation of a global network of par- liamentarians united against anti-Semitism, the inter- (1) 2 parliamentary coalition, the ICCA, of which I am on the steering committee. A lot of good has come out of this. It’s worth recalling some of the things we’ve done, and it has been done as a team. Since the 2002 hearing, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has annually passed declarations addressing anti-Semitism and calling for con- crete measures by all participating states in the OSCE. At the high-level conference in Berlin in 2004, leaders from throughout the OSCE region met to focus specifically on combating anti-Semitism, leading participating states to commit, at the Sofia ministerial later that year, to collect and report hate crimes data. In that same year, a tolerance unit with a focus on anti-Semitism was established within the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institu- tions and Human Rights, or ODIHR, and the OSCE appointed a special representative on combating anti-Semitism. I’m very pleased, and I think it’s a great honor, that we have here today Rabbi Andrew Baker, a critical force in the development of the Berlin conference—and, matter of fact, one of those who wordsmithed much of that actual document, especially when we hit some snags. He was there writing out language that was incor- porated into the final product. I’m very happy that you are here, and just laud you for the great work you have done for so long. The OSCE is now equipped with a toolbox to combat anti- Semitism, ranging from more than a dozen publications focused on addressing anti-Semitic hate crimes, Holocaust remembrance, and now has a new training against hate crimes for law enforcement programs to assist participating states in their efforts. The Anti-Defamation League and other NGOs that fight so hard to ensure that human rights and the dignity of Jews worldwide will always and everywhere be fully respected—they have also been an absolute critical part of this work. While the OSCE has the poten- tial to contribute mightily to this fight, it is only truly effective when it works with these vital human rights defenders. Efforts in the U.S. Congress and other parliaments have com- plemented this work over the years. The Inter-Parliamentary Coa- lition for Combating Anti-Semitism, which held its most recent major conference in Ottawa last fall, has been a crucial forum for parliamentarians to work across national boundaries to address common problems of anti-Semitism. In our own Congress, other members and I have worked hard to fight this terrible hate through this Commission, as well as through the Congressional Anti-Semitism Task Force and other committees of Congress where this has been taken up. It was a 2004 amendment of mine that created the State Department’s Of- fice to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and the Special Envoy on anti-Semitism. And, of course, we’re very pleased to have the current special envoy, Hannah Rosenthal, with us today. Ms. Rosenthal is doing an exemplary job, a fine job in that position. I got to know her a little better at Ottawa, and I appreciated her comments there and her comments worldwide as she travels and as she speaks out bold- ly. And her presence is a reminder of our government’s true com- mitment to fight against anti-Semitic hate. 3 Yet our work is far from done. Despite the efforts of many good people, mostly in courageous NGOs, but also in our Government and a few other governments, despite the conferences, commit- ments, laws, training, monitoring, the measure of our success is what happens on the ground. By most accounts, the despicable evil of anti-Semitism has decreased in some parts of the OSCE region in recent