Rick Santorum, September 24, 2004

"Not since Kristallnacht, the Nazi-led pogrom against German Jews in 1938, have so many European synagogues and Jewish schools been destroyed," wrote Mark Strauss, editor of Foreign Policy.

The past several years have revealed an upsurge in anti-Semitic violence throughout Europe. We see it in the vandalized memorials honoring Holocaust victims in Austria. It takes shape in the blotches of red paint depicting swastikas in a Jewish cemetery in Lyon, France. It becomes very tangible as men hurl anti-Semitic language into the faces of Jewish students in the streets of Paris.

In many places in the world, the Jewish community lives in fear. One study reports that eighty percent of all racist incidents in mainland France are anti-Semitic. This past August, in Paris, anti-Semitic graffiti, including a sign saying "death to Jews" and a swastika, was found scrawled on a wall on the grounds of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

For each reported incident, there are hundreds more unreported acts of anti-Semitism. These widespread incidents in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and the United Kingdom are not only a threat to Jewish people, but also to civil society. A very troubling trend is taking place before our eyes.

Rabbi Sacks of Great Britain said of this recent anti-Semitic violence, "Let it not be said of us that we saw the tiny flame but did not put it out until it became a raging fire." The incidents today are but a flicker of the danger that could ensue against the Jewish community if we allow our world to become a place tolerant of such racism.

The freedom of religion is the foundation of all freedoms-and our first freedom. All other freedoms are hollow without religious freedom. If you do not have the freedom to believe as your conscience directs you, then the freedom of speech is meaningless. It is imperative, that as freedom-loving people, we stand up for the expression of all faiths in the public square.

In order to achieve that goal I have started a Religious Liberty Working Group, composed of Republican and Democrat Representatives and Senators, to raise the profile and importance of religious freedom, both domestic and international, and to help identify and combat threats to it.

The world is beginning to wake up and notice these acts of anti-Semitism. In early September, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held its third conference in a year addressing the ongoing problem of anti-Semitism. Earlier this year, the United Nations held its first ever Conference on Anti-Semitism. At the Conference, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated, "This time the world must not-cannot-be silent."

We must do more than take notice-we must speak out. We know that the roots of anti-Semitism run deep in various parts of Europe and we have seen the horrific consequences of that in the last century. Therefore, it is important for us to keep a close eye on the recent rise in anti-Semitic attitudes. Last week in the United States Senate, seven Republican Senators made eloquent speeches on the Senate floor to document the global rise in anti-Semitism. I joined Senators Brownback, Voinovich, Coleman, Smith, Frist, and Bond in an unprecedented effort to illuminate this dangerous trend.

We must also carefully watch our college campuses, where anti-Semitic violence has been reported. Colleges should be a place where diverse opinions should be fostered, however, they should not be rooted in hate. Pro-Palestinian rallies taking place on our college campuses have become more anti-Semitic than pro-Palestinian as depicted in signs that read, "Hitler didn't finish the job." Hillel buildings at Rutgers, UC Berkeley, and the University of Colorado have all suffered vandalism. Anti-Semitism should not be tolerated in Europe, and it should not be tolerated on our college campuses.

There are serious questions as to the quality of monitoring and reporting these crimes. Adequate documentation does not exist. I urge the media to provide sufficient coverage and discussion of these acts of hatred-acts that include verbal abuse, physical assaults, arson of synagogues, and desecration of Jewish cemeteries, statues, and memorials. I also call on the identified European governments to take steps to ensure that the rights of the Jewish community are respected that they might know the security that many of us take for granted.

In bringing these reported incidents of anti-Semitism to the attention of the American people, I hope to help prevent these actions from escalating. These acts could broaden into something much more dangerous both for the Jewish community, and for the world at large. We must not become a place tolerant of such racism. We have an obligation to make sure that all religions are respected. This problem will not go away if we continue to ignore it.

Senator Rick Santorum represents Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.