By Times of Trenton Editorial Board -
In 2004, acknowledging an alarming increase in activities targeting Jews worldwide, the U.S. Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) co-wrote the bill. In addition to reviewing acts of anti-Semitism, and the response by governments, the measure also established a State Department office to monitor and combat these acts, to be headed by a special envoy. Since the administration of President George W. Bush, the position has served to put the world on notice that the United States would not countenance the type of hateful bigotry that puts Jews in danger wherever they live. Now, three lawmakers from New Jersey have joined a group of more than 60 Jewish state legislators from 25 states who are pleading with President Donald Trump not to abandon those efforts. In a bipartisan move, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), Senate Democratic Conference Leader Bob Gordon (D-Bergen and Passaic) and Sen. Bob Singer (R-Monmouth and Ocean) signed on to a letter protesting the apparent decision by the White House not to fill the current vacancy in the envoy’s post. A similarly bipartisan appeal went out from 116 members of the House of Representatives, including Smith, Donald Norcross (D-1st Dist.) and Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.). There may come a day when the need for heightened vigilance in the face of anti-Semitism is no longer needed. This is not that day.
The July 6 letter urged Trump “to maintain staff in the Offce to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, which is crucial to ensuring U.S. efforts ... match the scale and severity of threats to Jewish communities on the ground.” Recent history affrms that the lawmakers’ appeals are grounded in a sober reality. Data from the Anti-Defamation League released in April showed that anti-Semitic acts in the United States soared more than one-third in 2016, and jumped 86 percent in the first quarter of this year. In the first three months of this year alone, the organization recorded 161 bomb threats to Jewish community centers and schools, 155 vandalism incidents and six physical assaults. The blog Think Progress notes that “2016 was a horrible year for anti-Semitic hate crimes. 2017 is much worse.” There may come a day when the need for heightened vigilance in the face of anti-Semitism is no longer needed. This is not that day. In their letter, the state legislators point out that over the years, the special envoy has tackled specific problems in France, Argentina, Hungary, Ukraine, Greece and Egypt that might not have otherwise been addressed. One man, or one woman, acting alone cannot undo centuries of contempt directed against an entire people. But the absence of such a powerful figure speaks volumes about the United States’ priorities, and the vacancy Trump has allowed to happen under his watch is dismaying. Our gratitude to the lawmakers for making their case.
