WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Never to be Silent: Stemming the Tide of Antisemitism in America.” In 2023 alone, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported nearly 2,000 hate crimes against the Jewish community. More than two-thirds of all reported religious-based hate crimes in 2023 were driven by anti-Jewish bias. There has been a resurgence of antisemitism in America since the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Key Durbin Quotes:
“As Chair of this Committee, I held multiple hearings on the growing threat of hate-motivated violence. We heard compelling testimony from Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker about the 2022 hostage crisis at his Colleyville, Texas synagogue.”
“Let’s be clear. There is no justification—none—for antisemitism, whether from the left or the right side of the political spectrum. Violence or threats of violence have no place—none—on our college campuses and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It’s up to political leaders to stand up and condemn antisemitism wherever and whenever we see it, even if it’s coming from the most powerful people in our nation.”
“That’s why I feel compelled to say how troubled I am by some of the actions of this Administration. First of all, I reject President Trump’s comments that, ‘Any Jewish person that votes forDemocrats hates their religion,’ and ‘People in this country that are Jewish no longer love Israel.’ On his first day in office, President Trump issued full and unconditional pardons to the thugs who were responsible for the January 6 insurrection. Many of the rioters who received pardons openly embrace violent antisemitism.”
“This President [Trump] has also given an outsized role in [his Administration] to Elon Musk, who has endorsed and followed some of the most far right German political parties, even suggesting that there’s ‘frankly too much of a focus on past guilt and we need to move beyond that.’”
“The Trump Administration has also launched a broad attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies which has already led at least one federal agency to suspend Holocaust Remembrance Day observances… I’m deeply concerned that President Trump and his allies have promoted the so-called ‘Great Replacement Theory.’ This theory was cited by the gunman who killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the most deadly assault on the Jewish American community in our nation’s history.”
“In closing, I’d like to quote from a statement I received for this hearing from over 100 national and local Jewish organizations, including the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements, warning that ‘History has made clear that our safety as Jews is inextricably linked with inclusive, pluralistic democracy and with the rights and safety of all people. When the rule of law and democratic norms are threatened, antisemitism invariably increases and Jews—and all communities—are made less safe.’”
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.
As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin held a hearing entitled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.” The hearing examined 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.
Additionally, under Durbin’s leadership as Chair, the Committee held several other hearings to examine the issue of hate crimes, 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 Congress, 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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