Two South Florida congressional representatives are helping bring back the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism in the U.S. House.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, will be two of the co-chairs of the task force. Ros-Lehtinen and Deutch helped launch the group back in May 2015.
Other co-chairs include Republican U.S. Reps. Kay Granger of Texas, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Chris Smith of New Jersey and Democratic U.S. Reps. Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey of New York and Marc Veasey of Texas. More than 100 members of Congress from both parties had been part of the task force over the past two years.
On Monday, the co-chairs pointed to statistics showing an increase in anti-Semitic activities including more than 60 bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) across the nation and recent vandalism at Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia and Missouri.
“At home and abroad, we continue to witness anti-Semitism that is both dangerous and complex,” the co-chairs said in a joint statement released on Monday. “The recent desecration of Jewish grave sites and bomb threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and Jewish day schools across the country are deplorable. And overseas, the anti-Semitic threats, vandalism, and violence aimed at Jewish schools, synagogues, kosher supermarkets, homes, and property are unacceptable. In light of recent events, it is more important than ever that Democrats and Republicans work together to root out hatred and racism in all its ugly forms. We look forward to working with our colleagues in Congress to find innovative solutions that match the 21st century face of this ancient bigotry.”
The taskforce defines its mission as working “to ensure that Congress plays an integral role in condemning anti-Semitism and spearheading initiatives that promote tolerance worldwide...to serve as a forum for educating members on this distinct form of intolerance and to engage with the administration, foreign leaders and civil society organizations to share best practices and collaborate on solutions to rebuff this systemic problem” and working to “promote Holocaust remembrance in concert with exploring innovative ways to teach tolerance and confront hate.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., rounded up more than 150 members of Congress to send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Sec. John Kelly and FBI Director James Comey asking for a federal investigation of the wave of recent threats to the JCCs.
Murphy paired with U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley, D-NY, to write the letter. From the Florida delegation, Republican U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart, Bill Posey and Ros-Lehtinen signed the letter as did Florida Democrats U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Charlie Crist, Val Demings, Deutch, Lois Frankel, Alcee Hastings, Darren Soto, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Frederica Wilson.
Bilirakis weighed in on Monday on why he signed off on the letter.
“Jewish Community Centers have always been, and must continue to be, a home for Jewish life, history, and culture,” Bilirakis said. “The recent bomb threats against JCCs are threats against our very core values of religious liberty and the freedom to safely celebrate our beliefs. I urge federal law enforcement agencies to do everything possible to punish those responsible for making these threats, to prevent them from occurring in the future, and to make sure these threats never become a reality.”
