Rep. Lantos Decries "New Wave of Racial Hatred"

On the eve of a day designated as the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a U.S. congressman who survived the Holocaust spoke out against a "new wave of racial hatred" in the world.

"I think it is very important for us, here in the United States to mark this critical day," Representative Tom Lantos (Democrat of California) said in March 20 remarks to the House of Representatives.

"Racial Discrimination is a universal, global scourge. Confronting it and finding ways to defeat it are in the critical interest of every nation including the United States," said Lantos, who is the co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

Lantos, who struggled against both the Nazis and Communists in his native Hungary, deplored what he termed "an intense spasm of anti-Semitism."

As a delegate last year to the United Nations' World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, Lantos said he witnessed "a particularly vivid demonstration of this new round of hatred for Jews."

Lantos recalled how the non-governmental organizations' forum "featured anti-Jewish rallies attracting thousands in the streets of Durban."

One flyer, widely distributed at the rallies, he said, "showed a photograph of Hitler and the question 'What if I had won?' The answer: 'There would be NO Israel.'"

The events of September 11 showed that "we cannot turn a blind eye to hatred and evil," Lantos said. Instead, "we must actively take effective measures to eliminate racism at home and to defeat it abroad," said Lantos, the ranking minority member on the House International Relations Committee.

Following is the text of the March 20 speech of Representative Tom Lantos from the Congressional Record:

MARCH 21, 2002 DESIGNATED AS UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, March 21, 2002, has been designated as the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. I think it is very important for us, here in the United States to mark this critical day. Racial Discrimination is a universal, global scourge. Confronting it and finding ways to defeat it are in the critical interest of every nation including the United States. Racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance are one of the principal root causes of international conflict. Our global war against terrorism cannot be won until we root out the global affliction of hate and intolerance. America's experience with slavery and our long struggle to advance civil rights also compels us to play a leading role in the international effort to cleanse humanity of the stubborn and shameful stain of racism.

Tragically, in the last several years, the global community has been beset by a new wave of racial hatred. This new wave includes widespread discrimination against migrant workers in Europe and the Middle East; institutionalized racism against indigenous peoples and peoples of African descent in the Americas; and discrimination against women in the Islamic world. New forms of racism, often tied to the social and economic dislocations caused by increased globalization, are being spread by new technologies including proliferating hate sites on the internet.

Mr. Speaker, for me as the only Member of Congress who is a survivor of the Holocaust, it is particularly painful to note that the current increase in racial hate includes an intense spasm of anti-Semitism. As a delegate to the UN's World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban South Africa last summer, I witnessed a particularly vivid demonstration of this new round of hatred for Jews.

The conference's NGO forum, featured anti-Jewish rallies attracting thousands in the streets of Durban. One flyer, which was widely distributed at the rallies showed a photograph of Hitler and the question "What if I had won?" The answer: "There would be NO Israel ....." At a press conference held by Jewish NGO's to discuss their concerns with the direction the conference was taking, an accredited NGO, the Arab Lawyers Union, distributed a booklet filled with anti-Semitic caricatures, frighteningly like those seen in the Nazi hate literature printed and distributed in the 1930's. It was the most unabashed display of anti-Jewish hate that I have seen since that period. Similar images and messages can be found again and again in newspapers and other media in the Middle East, and on hate sites on the internet.

Mr. Speaker, if the tragic events of September 11th have taught us anything it is that we cannot turn a blind eye to hatred and evil. We must actively take effective measures to eliminate racism at home and to defeat it abroad. We must make sure that our government takes effective action to prevent and punish racism in the United States. In prosecuting the global war against terror, we must demand that our coalition partners confront hate in their own societies and in their regions.

I commend our distinguished colleague and friend from California, Congresswoman LYNN WOOLSEY, for focusing our attention on this important day and on this issue. I also want to commend our distinguished colleague, Congressman JOHN CONYERS of Michigan, for introducing the bipartisan Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would give local law enforcement the tools and resources needed to prevent and prosecute hate crimes. I urge all Members of this House to support this legislation.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)