NCSJ - 02.07.2008

NCSJ Director Levin Testifies Before Congress

Calls for broadened monitoring and tolerance efforts

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today on Capital Hill, NCSJ Director Mark B. Levin testified before the U.S. Helsinki Commission on the state of anti-Semitism in the member countries of the Organization on Security and Co-operation in Europe. Commission Chairman Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), led the hearing, which was attended by co-Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), past Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA). 

Mr. Levin joined other prominent activists from the government and the NGO community in testifying before the Commission. The first two witnesses were Dr. Gregg Rickman, U.S. State Department Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, and Felice D. Gaer from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Mr. Levin, representing NCSJ, Rabbi Andrew Baker from the American Jewish Committee, Rabbi Marvin Hier from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Stacy Burdett from the Anti-Defamation League testified on the second panel.

Mr. Levin described the efforts to combat anti-Semitism in the region and the challenges that still remain. He praised the Commission for their ongoing work to combat anti-Semitism and intolerance in the 15 successor states, and offered several recommendations as a way to begin to remedy the problems encountered by Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union 

He called for the creation and implementation of comprehensive hate crime legislation in the region. To ensure proper enforcement of any new legislation, Mr. Levin recommended that local police forces receive training to recognize and report hate crimes, in conjunction with ongoing efforts to monitor bias and hate motivated activities. Mr. Levin also recommended that countries make a concerted effort to implement tolerance education for people of all ages, and that regional media and religious outlets project a positive message. 

This multi-pronged effort, Mr. Levin stated, can be achieved through an active foreign policy by the U.S. and other member states of the OSCE. NCSJ will continue to work with the U.S. Government and the OSCE to implement these recommendations. 

At the end of his testimony, Mr. Levin stated that “…we have learned over these last three and a half decades, progress can be slow. However, millions of people have benefited from our unwavering commitment to freedom and fighting intolerance. Today, millions continue to depend on this commitment.”

NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, founded in 1971, represents the organized American Jewish community in monitoring and advocating on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews living in the 15 successor states of the former Soviet Union.

Links - updated Sep. 20

JTA brief

Mark Levin's full testimony

CSCE hearing notice

CSCE hearing testimonies and transcript