WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), co-founders and co-chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, released the following statement recognizing the task force’s one year anniversary:
“In recent years, anti-Semitism and acts of hate have grown at an alarming rate in the United States and throughout the world,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “Standing against anti-Semitism is a critical issue that’s near to my heart. That’s why one year ago today, I joined Senator James Lankford to launch the Senate’s first Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism. Over the past year, we’ve worked to educate and empower communities to fight back against hate. We’ve been able to make great strides, but our work is far from done. We have an ongoing responsibility to our neighbors, to our friends, to our community, and to our children to confront anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head.”
“In the last year since Senator Rosen and I started the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, more than a third of the Senate has joined with us in a bipartisan way to condemn acts of hate, promote a uniform definition of anti-Semitism for the U.S. and governments around the world, and ensure our schools are equipped to provide education on the Holocaust,” said Senator Lankford. “I look forward to our ongoing work to raise awareness and do what we can to fight anti-Semitism and religious persecution in the U.S. and worldwide.”
BACKGROUND: Last year, Senators Rosen and Lankford launched the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism. The Task Force now has 38 Senators, with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.
Additional Task Force members include: Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tom Carper (D-DE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Doug Jones (D-AL), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Tim Scott (R-SC), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Todd Young (R-IN).
In January, the Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2019 was signed into law. This bipartisan bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to eligible nonprofit organizations (tax-exempt organizations and those determined to be at risk of a terrorist attack), through the state in which they are located, for target hardening and other security enhancements to protect against terrorist attacks. Rosen and Lankford were both co-sponsors of identical bipartisan companion legislation.
Also in January, Rosen and Lankford, along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Allied Forces during World War II. The bipartisan resolution unanimously passed the Senate in February.
In addition to passing legislation to combat anti-Semitism, Rosen and Lankford have led the Task Force in condemning anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe, addressing violent acts of anti-Semitic hate here in the United States, and calling out anti-Semitism during the coronavirus pandemic, applauding other nations when they commit to tackling anti-Semitism, and commemorating Yom HaShoah.
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