Congressman Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a leading member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and co-chair of the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism, issued the following statement in response to the alarming rise of anti-Semitism over the weekend:
“An alarming uptick of anti-Semitic attacks has cast a shadow across the United States. Jewish Community Centers have received five mass wave bomb threats in recent weeks. The latest wave hit just this morning, including in my district. Neo-Nazis rallied in Montana, DC, and Minnesota. Chicago’s West Loop Synagogue was attacked. Swastikas defaced the New York City subway and college campuses across this country. And in recent days, vandals desecrated Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia, toppling over 250 Jewish tombs.
“The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force reported 28 anti-Semitic hate crimes between January 1-February 12, 2017—more than double the number reported in the same period last year. These ugly acts are a direct assault on the Jewish people and our ancestry. They are an attack on the bedrock values that make our country great. And they demand immediate attention.
“Whether it is the JCC-Mid Westchester in Scarsdale or JCC on the Hudson in Tarrytown, or the Jewish cemetery in Pennsylvania or Missouri or anywhere across this country, we must be vigilant. We must be unified. We must take an uncompromising stand against this horrific hatred. Such attacks cannot—and will not—be swept under the rug. I offer my full support to local and federal authorities to bring all those responsible for these horrific attacks to justice. I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community during these trying times and reaffirm my commitment to ensure hatred and bigotry have no place in my community and our country.”
