washington | Against its wishes, the State Department may soon create an office devoted to monitoring international anti-Semitism, partially thanks to the work of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo).
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness/ Review Act over the weekend, five months after the bill was approved by the Senate. The legislation also would require the government to address anti-Semitism in its annual reports on human rights practices and international religious freedom.
The bill passed despite State Department opposition and with the help of a bipartisan group of foreign policy intellectuals and political leaders.
The issue of international anti-Semitism has grown in the American Jewish community as attacks against Jews in Europe garner headlines. It’s also a growing issue on the minds of American Jewish voters ready to cast their ballots for president next month in some key states.
The Bush White House has tried to paint itself as sensitive to the issue. Bush may use the anti-Semitism bill as another example of his concern, despite the administration’s initial opposition. .
Lantos, the bill’s architect, convinced House and Senate colleagues to agree to a beefed-up version of the legislation. Previous versions would not have created the State Department office, and would have called for a one-time report on anti-Semitism rather than an annual account.
“Passing a robust measure to reverse the growth of global anti-Semitism has been an uphill battle this year in Congress,” Lantos said. “Despite that, I am pleased that we have managed to produce a good bill before the gavel falls on this year’s session.”
The State Department opposed the plan, suggesting that a special office to deal with anti-Semitism would be redundant and seen as ethnic favoritism. A July State Department memo to Lantos said the proposal “could erode our credibility by being interpreted as favoritism in human rights reporting,” and would establish an “unworkable precedent.”