Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Committee On Rise Of Hate Crimes In America

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.”  The hearing will examine the threats facing marginalized communities and how the federal government can better protect the civil rights and safety of all Americans, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim Americans.  Building on the Committee’s work to address the rise in hate crimes and domestic terrorism, Durbin announced the hearing in response to the ongoing and persistent rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate, and other forms of bigotry across the country. 

During his opening remarks, Durbin recognized the family members of those who were victims of hate crimes.  He introduced Hanaan Shahin, mother of Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old from Plainfield, Illinois, who was murdered last October for his identity as a Palestinian American.  He then acknowledged the Mallinger family, who are attending the hearing in honor of Rose Mallinger, one of the 11 congregants killed at the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in 2018.

Key Quotes:

“At the outset, I want to acknowledge the possible attempted assassination on former President Trump.  I’m relieved that no one was hurt, and I thank the Secret Service and their law-enforcement partners for keeping the former President safe.”

“As we will discuss today, violence and threats of violence are always wrong, no matter the motive and no matter the target.”

“I first held hearings on the growing threat of hate-motivated violence in 2011, and again in 2012, after a white supremacist murdered seven worshipers at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.  Since I became Chair of this Committee, we’ve held several more hearings on this subject—including a hearing after the hostage crisis at the Colleyville Texas synagogue, where we heard compelling testimony from Colleyville’s Rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker.”

“The FBI’s most recent national hate crime statistics document [cites] 11,634 hate crimes—the highest number since the FBI began reporting data.  And, since the horrific October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, we have seen an increase in attacks on Jewish Americans, Palestinian Americans, Arab Americans, and Muslim Americans.”

“I’d like to acknowledge that my constituent Hanaan Shahin, Wadee Alfayoumi’s mother, is in the audience. I was honored to join my colleagues, Senator Tammy Duckworth and Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, in introducing a resolution honoring Wadee.”

“We are also joined by Alan Mallinger, his wife Lauren, and their daughter Amy.  Rose Mallinger, Alan’s mother and Amy’s grandmother, was one of 11 congregants murdered at the Tree of Life synagogue, the deadliest attack on Jews in American history.”

“Since 2000, according to federal law enforcement, white supremacists, ‘[have been] responsible for … more [homicides] than any other domestic extremist’ group.”

“And just this month, the Justice Department arrested and indicted the leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a white supremacist terrorist group that allegedly solicited attacks against minority communities and the assassination of U.S. public officials, including a Jewish Senator.”

“Free speech is sacred in our America.  But public officials – on both sides of the aisle – have a responsibility not to fan the flames of hatred.”

“The former President and his Vice-Presidential candidate have both spread the lie that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are eating cats and dogs.  Everyone in public life should condemn antisemitic and racist language and disassociate themselves from demagogues who traffic in it.”

“This type of rhetoric can have deadly consequences.  In recent days, there have been numerous bomb and shooting threats in Springfield, Ohio, and schools and other institutions have been forced to close.  And look at the Tree of Life synagogue shooting.  On social media, the shooter claimed that Jewish Americans were conspiring to destroy the white race by encouraging non-white immigrants to invade our country.”

“This antisemitic and racist ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory was also cited by the white supremacist who murdered ten Black Americans at the Tops Market in Buffalo in 2022.  In recent years, it has been echoed by the former President and other leading political figures.”

“Political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, must condemn hate, wherever and whenever it is spewed, and avoid rhetoric that could incite violence.  Because hate is inconsistent with who we are as Americans and the diversity that has always strengthened our nation.”

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

Since 2022, the Committee has held several hearings to examine the issue, including a hearing on “Combating the Rise in Hate Crimes” shortly after the January 15, 2022, synagogue attack in Colleyville, Texas, and a hearing on the “Metastasizing’ Domestic Terrorism Threat After the Buffalo Attack,” which explored the continued threat posed by violent white supremacists and other extremists, including those who have embraced the so-called “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, after a mass shooting by a white supremacist in Buffalo on May 14, 2022; the white supremacist who murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 also embraced this conspiracy theory.

Last year, Durbin reintroduced the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which would establish federal offices to combat domestic terrorism, require federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess the threat, and provide training and resources to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to address it. In May 2022, Senate Republicans filibustered the House-passed Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, less than two weeks after the racially-motivated attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that killed ten Black Americans.

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