Mr President in the first 48 Hours following the October 7th Hamas terror attack on Israel violent language and threats against the Jewish community and Israel increased by over 488 per. this hatred is spreading like wildfire on college campuses around the nation turning our socalled Elite academic institutions into cesspools of harassment and violence pointed toward Jewish students there are violent mobs storming buildings smashing Windows defacing property tearing down the American flag and replacing it with the flag of radical extremist groups we are witnessing anti-semitic hate and extremism that threatens a very safety of our Jewish students on college campuses around the greatest nation on God's green earth it is so shocking and outrageous that so many of the administrators on these campuses sit back and watch as their campuses descend into chaos and criminality there can be I mean this there can be no equivocating when it comes to the issue of anti-Semitic violence or hatred and I and every single one of us should just call it out for what it is so let me be clear any student who advocates for murder and sympathizes with terrorists should be expelled any University that allows itself to become a megaphone for hatred should lose every single dime of their Federal funding any college administrator who refuses to Stamp Out violent bigotry should lose their job the American people and especially our Jewish brothers and sisters deserve our moral Clarity on this issue that's why I introduced a resolution that forcefully condemns the explosion of anti-Semitism on college campuses calls out administrators who have failed to do their jobs and Stamp Out hatred and urges the Department of Education to do their job and ensure that universities are protecting the rights of Jewish students I am asking that every single senator in this chamber to support this resolution to support common sense and to push back against the hatred on these college campuses pointed directly at our Jewish students let us all send a very clear clear message to our Jewish students and to those who oppose them it is vital that this body the so-called most deliberative body on the planet stands United and speaks with moral Clarity on this issue Mr President I would like to turn over some time to Senator hovind and and then Senator Ernst but let me be clear without any question it is time for the United States Senate to stand unanimously not behind our Jewish students but in front of them let us be the wall that protects them Senator hovind Carolina but I I'll defer to my colleague first the senator from Iowa thank thank you Mr President and and I would like to thank my colleagues for joining me here on the floor again this evening um the senator from South Carolina the senator from North Dakota thank you for raising this issue and and showing leadership for our friends Across the Nation Mr President I rise in support of this resolution and to condemn the rise of anti-Semitic hate speech and violence we are seeing at colleges and universities throughout our country like so many parents and grandparents I want our children to be allowed to freely Express their thoughts and their views but what we are seeing right now goes way beyond that this is not free speech it's violent abusive discrimination and it has to stop six months ago I sent a letter alongside my colleague and ranking member of the Senate health education labor and pensions committee Senator Cassidy urging the Biden Administration to protect college students from targeted attacks on campuses I spoke to anti-semitic incidents including vandalism of fraternity homes and club meeting spaces dorm room doors being set on fire professors making examples of Jewish students by plac ing them in a corner of their classroom to emulate the Palestinian experience today exactly 214 days since Iran back toas attacked Israel the Biden Administration has finally released guidance clarifying that fostering a hostile environment on campus is in fact a violation of the Civil Rights Act something I've been saying all along in the past month alone we've seen Jewish students physically blocked from entering their academic buildings with protesters surrounding them chanting death to America we've seen protesters holding the the Nazi salute as Jewish students walk through campus we've watched protesters take hammers to the windows of academic buildings all the while claiming to be peaceful to date we have seen 80 different schools play host to these protests and more than 50 of those schools have required law enforcement presence resulting in arrests folks the fact that we needed 20 pages of examples modeled on students real experiences to tell us that these actions are unacceptable is absolutely ridiculous secretary Cardona needs to take a hard look at the number of title six complaints his team has received in the past six months he claims schools are mitigating the violence and discrimination but I have yet to see real solutions for the students too scared to even walk across the quad to the cafeteria Mr President this anti-Semitism is unamerican Holy unacceptable and we should be unified in our intolerance to it I call on President Biden and secretary Cardona to remove Federal funding from these schools that are allowing Jewish hate on their campuses and I call on the Senate to Stand United in the face of this abhorent behavior and to say with one voice wholeheartedly we can Dem anti-Semitism never again is right now I yield my time to the gentleman from North Dakota I'd like to thank the steam senator from Iowa and also I'm very proud to rise this evening uh to join with my uh esteemed Senate colleague Senator Scott South Carolina and I want to thank him for his very very strong leadership on this important issue and for condemning the rising tide of anti-Semitism we're seeing around the country as you know less than a year ago on October 7th Israel was victim to a horrific a horrific attack by Hamas since then the United States has stood firm with our strong Ally as as Israel asserts its right to defend itself and hold Hamas accountable for the for its heinous actions in November I traveled with a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen to Tel Aviv and met with prime minister Netanyahu where I reiterated America's absolute commitment to Israel since then we passed the National Security Supplemental funding legislation with broad bipartisan support broad bipartisan support to provide Aid to our close Ally Israel what's new however and is is deeply troubling is the rise of anti-Semitism in our society and particularly what we are seeing on our college campuses I I I have to say I never thought that we would see this in my lifetime in our country I it it I just can't believe that we are seeing anti-Semitism like this in America and it is absolutely unacceptable absolutely unacceptable to be clear College and universities ought to be spaces that encourage free thinking and Free Speech where students can learn about the world and their place in it there can be no space however for anti-Semitism on our college campuses or anywhere else in our country the examples that we are seeing at universities of anti-zionist encampments individuals prohibiting Jewish students from entering University buildings and other anti-semitic acts must be met with a speedy and strong response and not only from the universities but from our department of education as well as we recognized Holocaust remember its day earlier this week I'm reminded of remarks given by the late Supreme Court Justice Scalia to Mark the occasion over 20 years ago when he said that the most frightening aspect of the whole cost was that it happened in one of the most educated most Progressive and most cultured countries in the world for these reasons and many more I'm proud to join with Senator Scott from South Carolina in supporting this resolution and other of our Co colleagues as well the resolution condemns anti-Semitism and resolves that the administration administrators of colleges as well as the Department of Education must take the ne necessary actions to ensure compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and defend Jewish and Israeli students against discrimination Mr I ask unanimous consent that the committee on health education labor and pensions be discharged from further consideration and that the Senate now proceed to sres 670 further that the res resolution be agreed to the Preamble be agreed to and that the Motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table is there objection reserving the right to object the senator from Vermont president I rise in opposition to Sr 670 which in my view does in fact not go far enough to address the very serious crisis of bigotry taking place all over this country let me be very clear anti-Semitism is a vile and disgusting form of bigotry that has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years and in the last century resulted in the deaths of at least six million people including some in my own family and I strongly and unequivocally condemn all forms of anti-Semitism in addition it is imperative that Congress representing the American people makes clear our strong opposition to all forms of bigotry in this country whether on college campuses or elsewhere including islamophobia homophobia racism and the growing attack against the Asian American Community our goal must be to bring people together as one nation regardless of our religion regardless of where we were born regardless of the color of our skin and the resolution that I am offering which I hope will be accepted makes that abundantly clear no the anti-Semitism no to islamophobia no to all forms of racism and bigotry and Mr President as we do our best to combat racism and all of its ugly manifestations we must also hold our heads high and with pride as we honor the First Amendment to our constitution brilliant developed by the founders of this country and let me read simply read because some may have forgotten what the First Amendment says and I quote Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances end of quote that Mr President is what a free country is about the right to disagree with government and the right to protest and those are rights that every member of Congress should respect no matter what one's political point of view may be Mr President I happen to believe that protesting Injustice is part of the American tradition going back to the very founders of this country and has played a fundamental role in recent decades in the fight to overcome racism sexism homophobia and other forms of discrimination I would remind my colleagues for example that the success of the Civil Rights Movement was due in large part to ciens and occupations where young black and white Americans bravely took up space in private businesses demanding an end to the racial discrimination and segregation that existed at that time I would also remind my colleagues that during the Vietnam war students and millions of other Americans including myself join peaceful demonstration demonstrations demanding an end to that war maybe just maybe tens of thousands of American lives and countless Vietnamese lives might have been saved if the government had listen to those demonstrators and further let us not forget those who demonstrated against the failed Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan maybe those press protesters should have been listened to as well You know despite what some people think here government policy regarding Wars is not always right in fact in recent history it has mostly been wrong Mr President I do find it extraordinary both tonight and listening to my colleagues and what I have heard for many months now that this body is very quick to bring forth bills and resolutions condemning student protesters but there has been minimal discussion about what these young people are protesting and that is rather extraordinary I didn't hear one word of it tonight what are they out demonstrating about what have millions of people gone to the streets and talking about so let me take this opportunity to do just that we all know as has been stated correctly this evening then October 7th 2023 Hamas a terrorist organization began this war with an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 innocent men women and children and took over 2 people captive many of whom are still in captivity tonight I think all of us believe and I know that all of us believe that this horrific attack must be unequivocally D demed and I believe that all of us understand that Israel had the right to defend itself against Kamas but I certainly do not believe nor do I do nor do a strong majority of the American people believe that the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government has the right to wage an unprecedented allout War against the Palestinian people and what these protests are largely about and what public opinion is showing is outrage that since October 7th the Netanyahu government has killed more than 40 34,000 Palestinians and injured more than 78,000 70% of whom are women and children that is over 5% of the 2.2 million people living in Gaza and that Mr President is what the vast majority of people in this country who are protesting are talking about protesters and the majority of the American people are outraged that 1.8 million people 80% of the population of Gaza have been forced out of their homes 80% forced out of their homes and sent to overcrowded and dangerous locations protesters and the American people in general are deeply concerned about the destruction of over 200,000 housing units destroyed leaving more than a million people in Gaza homeless the American people and protesters are deeply worried concerned about what happens to these people in the future they got no home where do they go how do they live the American people and protesters are outrage that the civilian infrastructure of Gaza has been devastated with approximately 60% of water and sanitation facilities damaged or destroyed and electricity almost entirely shut off raw waste is now seeping into the streets throughout Gaza say Wastewater systems have been destroyed destroyed the American people and American doctors I have talked to who were in Gaza are shocked that the Health Care system of Gaza has been systematically destroyed with 26 hospitals knocked out of service and more than 400 healthcare workers killed and Mr President when we talk about college campuses and I understand that is the discussion here tonight I want everyone to know that there are no protests on the college campuses in Gaza nobody is feeling discomfort you know why because every one of the 12 universities in Gaza has been bombed and destroyed and as we speak against explicited repeated warnings from President Biden Israel is attacking Rafa for over a million Palestinians have sought Refuge refuge and that situation will only accelerate the crisis that Mrs McCain and others in the humanitarian world have talked about and that is famine is imminent in Gaza and God knows how many children are already dying of malnutrition Mr President the fact of the matter is that some 67% of Americans according to to recent polls support the United States calling for a ceasefire and 60% oppos sending more weapons to Israel and that's what the protesters are talking about they are asking why it is we are complicit in the humanitarian disaster taking place in Gaza and why well we got hundreds of thousands of people homeless throughout this country were given $20 billion dollar more to the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government so known Mr President it's not just protesters on college campuses who are upset about us policy with regard to Israel and Gaza increasingly the American people want an end to us complicity in the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding there Mr President I will therefore be offering an alternative resolution to the one that Senator Scott offered which does the following and I hope it would gain unanimous support one strongly condemns condemns the rise of anti-Semitic anti-muslim anti-arab anti-asian and any other form of discrimination on the campuses of schools and institutions of higher education across the United States so it does what Senator Scott proposes but it does more number two strongly affirms congress's support for the First Amendment to the Constitution and freedom of speech and descent three strongly supports the right of students and all Americans to peacefully protest four urges the Department of Education to take necessary actions to ensure that schools and institutions of higher education are complying with title six of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide all students including students who are or perceived to be Jewish Israeli Muslim Arab or Palestinian a school environment free from discrimination based on race religion color or national origin and lastly strongly urges School leaders College administrations College administrators and local state and federal leaders to take all necessary steps to protect students safety and civil rights including their right to peacefully assemble and protest therefore I object to this resolution the objection is heard Mr President the senator from South Carolina reserving the right to object no you respond let me just respond to my good friend on the other side of the ocean and this aisle I wonder in the 1960s when we were black students what did they want then it wasn't a resolution condemning all hate when they were the only target of the hate it was support for those who were being victimized in the moment not a resolution that muddies the water every single challenge facing the folks in the Middle East as a result of Hamas attacking Israel every drop of blood is on the hands of the terrorists in Hamas period every challenge facing folks in Gaza that is a result of Hamas terrorizing the nation of Israel is on the shoulders of Hamas when you start the war every innocent life every unnecessary death is on you plain and simple let me just say that it is a coalition government in Israel a unanimous coalition government in Israel supporting the efforts of Israel to eliminate Hamas from the planet and I do too 100% it's frustrating it's frustrating to see the level of violence in our country it's frustrating for me to see the level of violence on our college campuses I started working on the definition of anti-sm ISM not October the 7th but in 2018 president Trump made my language into an executive order five years ago why because there were signs even then of hate disgusting violence and intimidation on college campuses in America and so I just find the language and the comments of my colleague from Vermont deeply disturbing and insulting and misleading my resolution is quite simple it condemns the rampant anti-Semitism on college campuses the the 2,000 plus arrests on college campuses weren't because of violence against black folks or violence against Muslims or violence against Hispanics or violence against Asians it was violence against Jewish students it was intimidation of Jewish students it was vandalism on college campuses because of these folks who were trying to intimidate and get to our Jewish students it was our Jewish students that couldn't walk to class in peace it was our Jewish students who couldn't study in libraries without intimidation an objection to my resolution is an objection to the reality that today our Jewish students are facing disgusting environments on college campuses and the administrators sit back with their hands under their butts my College's resolution my colleagues resolution clouds the issue of anti-Semitism and equates hamas's unprovoked terrorist attack on innocent Israelis and Israel's measures of self-defense it's ridiculous what can we say what can we say to our young students in elementary schools and middle schools and high schools as they look at these so-called Elite campuses where they're taking down American flags wh what do we say to our young students watching anti-Semitism rage on college campuses what do we say when they ask the questions that they ask me why do they hate the Jews so much and who will stand in the Gap not just with them before them and I say there's not a single Republican in the United States Senate that is blocking this resolution I say I not I will but I must stand why can't we just say anti-Semitism on college campuses is wrong why can't we have a full stop right there perhaps it's because the politics of it is so entangled that the Quagmire pit we must have everything thrown into the bucket as opposed to just speaking the truth as it is right now on college campuses why can't we just condemn anti-Semitism on his face why is it so hard for my Democratic C leagues to condemn what Senator Sanders says and I agree the oldest form of hate in the world why can't we just do that right now we can but politics suggests that to be politically correct we must include everybody well everybody isn't being is is not being impacted like our Jewish students today why this is so hard to speak without a fort tongue on such a powerful issue that deserves our moral Clarity it is Jewish students being forced out of the classrooms and out of the dorms it is Jewish students facing violence today I get frustrated by the fact so often we just feel sorry for those poor kids I get tired of hearing people say well you know there's this larger group of folks that need to be protected 2,000 arrests for violence specifically focused and targeting Jewish students every single child I don't care what race you are what religion has a right to go to campus safely but in today America it is the Jewish student the Jewish student can't prepare for a midterm in a library it's a Jewish student they can't walk to class without hoping and praying that law enforcement's there there we deserve we deserve better America deserves leadership that is unequivocal when it matters the most we deserve leadership that speaks to the issue of the day today and every day that's why people so disgusted with [Applause] politics Mr President senator from Vermont well I would agree with Senator Scott on one point people are disgusted with politics and maybe the reason that they are disgusted with politics is despite what the vast majority of the American people want the United States government is continuing to provide billions of dollars in military aid to the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government Senator Scott said it's a coalition government it is it is right-wing extremist for in Co in Coalition without and out racists that's the Coalition and people are disgusting Ed because they don't want to see their money going to kill more women and children in Gaza now Senator Scott says that um I'm muddying the waters really well I would suggest to Senator Scott remember what happened a number of months ago in November I believe of 23 three young Palestinian college students were shot at close range in my city islamophobia in this country is on the rise if you're a Palestinian walking the streets you better be careful so the idea that we should not as a nation and as a congress come together to address anti-Semitism absolutely but islamophobia we have as you know some people out there talking about the Chinese flu and Kung flu if you think that that does not provoke anti-asian behavior on the part of some you would be mistaken so I think what is appropriate is for us to condemn anti-Semitism which is exactly what my resolution does but make it clear that all forms of bigotry in this country are unacceptable to object I ask Mr President I ask the anonymous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of my resolution which is at the desk further the resolution be agreed to the Preamble be agreed to that the Motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate is there an objection reserving the right to object Mr President I think the senator and I could do this all night long I'd be happy to frankly I don't think we will get to the place where we just have a clear statement condemning anti-Semitism so for all the reasons I've already noted and made I object the objection is heard
