Yesterday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. One might think that this day has been marked for decades, but, somewhat tellingly, the commemoration was only codified by the United Nations in 2005.
Our mission is to stand with the Jewish people – both those in Israel and those around the world. As such, we are dedicated not only to ensuring Israel’s Iron Dome missile system is resupplied but also to combating antisemitism in the United States.
IHRA
In a statement commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee noted, “One cannot defeat that which they are unwilling to define.”
That principle is the driving
force behind our effort to ensure the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is normalized across the country. And by close of business on Thursday, 10 states across the country had issued proclamations or taken other executive action commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day and, fittingly, acknowledging the IHRA definition.
From Alabama to Idaho, governors are speaking up. In the wake of Colleyville and all the other antisemitic incidents that have taken place across the country, we are pleased to see so many leaders take a stand. But we’ve
only just begun.
As CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker noted in a statement yesterday, “We will not stop until every child in America has a firm and personal understanding of the genocide by which all others are measured.”
Security
Acknowledging and confronting antisemitism in the United States is imperative. Educating our children about the history of the world’s oldest hatred is vital. These are medium and long-term solutions to the problem.
We must also have an immediate answer. To that end, we welcome Majority Leader Schumer’s call to double the funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s Non-Profit Security Grant program. Several years ago, this funding stood at $90 million. We supported the effort to increase it to $180 million and likewise agree with the Majority Leader that it should be doubled again. Until every house of worship is safe and protected against those who would commit violence, we’ve not done right by our neighbors. Until every child is secure in the sanctuary or the Sunday school classroom we have not done our jobs.
Words & Violence
At its core, antisemitism is an evil concept advanced by evil people using evil words. In a recent op-ed, CUFI’s Senior Director of Policy and Communications Ari Morgenstern delves deeper into how such evil words lead to violence, rooting his argument in the warning of the late Holocaust survivor and educator Irving Roth (z”l) who repeatedly tried to
get his audience to internalize a simple concept: “It began with words.”
In the piece, Morgenstern notes, “The modern American political lexicon begets violence. The cottage industry of hateful advocacy groups justifying, defending or sharing the goals of violent people while paying lip service to nonviolence is growing. We must understand the weight of the words that antisemites—be they white supremacists or radical Islamic supremacists—are clinging to and recognize that all people are nonviolent up until the point that some people are violent.”
There won’t be an Action Update next week as CUFI is holding its annual Leadership Summit. At this event, our most committed activists meet with and hear from CUFI leadership and staff, as well as your CUFI Action Fund team members. For those who are unable to join, upon our return, we’ll provide a full rundown of the results of those conversations to let you know exactly how we intend to combat the rise of antisemitism and ensure the safety and security the of the Jewish people in the months and years to come.
Sincerely,
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