The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, welcomes the Senate’s unanimous recent passage of S.Res.189, a bipartisan resolution that condemns – and commits to combating – all forms of anti-Semitism.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the resolution, which was passed earlier this month on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel and within months of the deadly attacks on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the Poway Chabad in California. Jews, the resolution notes, are the targets of the majority of hate crimes committed in the United States against any religious group, including attacks on houses of worship and Jewish community centers.

The resolution specifically recognizes that anti-Semitism:

• is a unique form of prejudice stretching back millennia that attacks the equal humanity of the Jewish people;
• has long perpetrated myths about Jews, including the Russian fabrication of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the wide circulation of libelous falsehoods about the Jewish murder of infants;
• aims at the physical destruction of the Jewish people, as seen in pogroms, forced conversions and Nazi Germany’s murder of over six million Jews;
• has included attacks on the livelihood of Jews including prohibitions on land ownership, campaigns to boycott, confiscate or destroy Jewish businesses and denial of the ability of Jews to practice certain professions.

The resolution also highlights the systematic discrimination Jews have historically suffered in the United States, such as being excluded from owning homes in certain neighborhoods and  staying in certain hotels and being denied membership in private clubs and admission to universities and other educational institutions. It also notes that Jews continue to face numerous negative stereotypes and false accusations such as divided loyalty between the United States and Israel; purchasing political power with money; and controlling financial systems.

Orthodox Union President Mark (Moishe) Bane stated:
“We appreciate Sens. Cruz and Kaine – and the rest of the Senate – for bringing awareness to the historic and ongoing injustice of anti-Semitism in the United States. There is simply no place in this country for speech, behavior or actions that denigrate or harm Jews – or people of any other faith.”

Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Allen Fagin stated:
“With incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States soaring to record numbers during the past year,  and similar trends abroad, this resolution is an unequivocal and timely reminder that we must remain ever-vigilant against those who seek to harm us whether in word or in deed.”