A message of hate is scrawled on a basement wall of a prestigious university.

    Assailants pelt a wheelchair bound man with an aluminum can and anti-Semitic expletives.

    Swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti are written in a bathroom of a middle school; and a 9-foot menorah outside a Jewish Center is dumped into a stream.

    While these anti-Semitic incidents are horrific and disturbing, even more shocking may be just how close to home they occurred.  Each incident transpired right here in New Jersey, and each is an example of the sad escalation of anti-Semitic activities throughout our state, the nation, and the world.

    Anti-Semitism is a deadly disease of the heart that leads to violence, cruelty, and unspeakable acts of horror. As Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel wrote, “The anti-Semite is an ideological fanatic and pathological racist.  An anti-Semite is someone who never met me, never heard of me, yet he hates me.”

    We are all aware of and regularly deplore the hate crimes and cowardly acts that are committed routinely by Hamas and their like-minded murderers.  But what is new is the enormous surge in anti-Semitic acts and the resurgence of hatred for Jews in Europe, Canada, and here at home in the United States.

    For years I have made the international campaign against anti-Semitism a critical component of my foreign policy agenda.  As both Chairman of the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (The Helsinki Commission) and Vice Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, I have authored multiple pieces of legislation both at home and in international assemblies urging a redoubled commitment to stopping these acts dead in their tracks.

    Often times, my work and the work of others on this issue has gone largely unnoticed at home by all but a few interested parties and newspapers.  Many apparently think anti-Semitism is a problem for somewhere else and not something we have to worry about here.  This, however, is not the case.

    According to the Anti-Defamation League, 171 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in New Jersey in 2002, including the attacks mentioned earlier.  Incidents were reported in 18 of our 21 counties with the most – 26 – reported in Ocean County, part of which I represent.

    Statewide, New Jersey ranked third behind only New York and California in total number of anti-Semitic incidents reported.  (Please keep in mind that these numbers reflect only incidents that are reported, not the many that surely go undocumented).

    New Jersey also had the dubious distinction of having an anti-Semitic as our poet laureate until the State Legislature did away with this position.  And earlier this month, a man who harbored and espoused several hateful positions -- including anti-Semitism – was appointed to the council in Hopewell Borough.  Thankfully, he promptly resigned his post.

    Nationwide, 1,559 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in 2002, up about 8 percent from the previous year.  Another disturbing trend is that incidents on college campuses increased by nearly 25 percent from 2001 to 2002.

    We have been hearing more and more about the idea that a disagreement with the policies of the Israeli Government somehow gives license for some people to hate the Jewish People. We can disagree on policies, as we do on the House floor or in the college classroom, but espousing anti-Semitism is not disagreeing – it is hating.  Anti-Semitism cannot be allowed to camouflage, cloak or conceal its ugliness as mere policy differences with the State of Israel.

    The worldwide increase in anti-Semitic incidents calls for action. I am encouraged by progress made in diplomatic sessions with my European colleagues.  This year and last, I authored and secured passage of resolutions on anti-Semitism from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, as well as a Congressional resolution that passed the House recently.

    As a result of these resolutions, several summits on anti-Semitism have been held over the past year, and we have developed an action plan that has been agreed to by the OSCE.  All member states are urged to ensure effective law enforcement and prosecution of individuals perpetrating anti-Semitic violence, and to create and promote education campaigns to counter anti-Semitic stereotypes.

    Just last month, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and I represented the United States at an OSCE anti-Semitism conference in Vienna. A follow-up session will be held next year in, of all places, Berlin, which only 60 years ago was the heart of Nazi Germany. This issue has the full attention and support of Secretary of State Colin Powell and the rest of the Bush Administration.

    But the battle against anti-Semitism must go beyond the halls of Congress and Parliamentary assemblies.  The message of acceptance and tolerance must be taken into every home, school, youth group, and town hall if we are to change the hearts and minds of those who harbor such views, and prevent the youth of America and the world from following this dark path.