“The Orthodox Union applauds the leadership of the United States Senate for passing S.Con.Res.110 in support of the work of the OSCE in confronting and combating the evil of anti-Semitism,” declared Betty Ehrenberg, Director of International and Communal Affairs of the Institute for Public Affairs of Orthodox Union. “This is an important step in the continued fight against this alarming scourge that has been on the rise for the past several years”, she added.

“The accomplishments of the Helsinki Commission, members of Congress, and the OSCE in having fifty-five member states take action against anti-Semitism are no less than extraordinary.”

S.Con.Res.110, a resolution expressing support for the ongoing work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to combat anti-Semitism and racism, was introduced by United States Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and was co-sponsored by ranking Commission member Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Commissioner Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Gordon Smith (R-OR).

Ms. Ehrenberg, who served as a Public Member in the U.S. delegation to the OSCE to the Conference on Anti-Semitism in Berlin last April, testified at the Helsinki Commission hearing in June that examined how governments have responded to anti-Semitism in the OSCE region. “It is crucial that the fight against anti-Semitism be supported by the full force of U.S. elected leaders and government officials, setting an example for other world leaders,” she said.

The Senate resolution urges “officials and elected leaders of all OSCE participating states, including all OSCE Mediterranean Partner for Cooperation Countries, to ‘unequivocally’ condemn acts of anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination wherever and whenever they occur”. It also calls for the Bulgarian Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy and the incoming Slovenian Chairman-in-Office to consider appointing an individual to the post of “personal envoy” – a high profile position in the OSCE which would help ensure sustained focus on fulfilling OSCE commitments on the tracking and reporting of anti-Semitic crimes.

“The public reporting of these statistics will make it possible to monitor more closely acts of anti-Semitism as they occur around the world and to take measures to counteract them,” Ms. Ehrenberg said.

“The OU welcomes the passage of S.Con.Res.110 and looks forward to the passage of similar legislation in the House very soon,” she declared.