Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued Tuesday against making it a “priority” even though anti-Semitism has skyrocketed over the past year and anti-Semitic hate crimes are on the rise.
Durbin spoke at the start of a hearing on “hate crimes,” the Democratic-led Senate's first attempt to address the wave of anti-Semitic rhetoric and attacks since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel a year ago.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has held several hearings on the issue, but the Senate, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), has Calls Neither does he, the highest-ranking Jew in the government.
As Breitbart News reported on Monday, Democrats invited two witnesses to the hearing who oppose the Jewish community's efforts to combat anti-Semitism, while Republicans invited witnesses who have focused on anti-Semitism.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the committee's ranking minority member, noted in his opening remarks that Republicans sent a letter to Senator Durbin in May asking for hearings focused specifically on anti-Semitism.
Graham noted that although Jews make up a tiny minority of the American population, they are the victims of two-thirds of reported religion-based hate crimes, and he also noted the emergence of extremist, genocidal anti-Israel language on college campuses.
He added that the House of Representatives has already held 10 hearings on anti-Semitism, but the Senate has never held one.
Durbin responded:
Senator Graham, you and I agree on more than we disagree on. And we certainly agree that hate crimes, whatever their origins or purpose, should be taken seriously. Hate crimes are unacceptable in our country. I don't think it's a legitimate exercise of our authority to prioritize which groups are the most severely discriminated against. What we're trying to do is identify a problem in America that's not just against Jews, but against Arabs, against Palestinians. All of these hate crimes are unacceptable.
Durbin later expressed skepticism of efforts that argue “one type of hate crime, anti-Semitism, is the worst, that this is the number one priority, to the exclusion of others, and we're only going to address one.”
Earlier, in his opening statement, Senator Durbin had condemned remarks made by former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) about Haitian immigrants, and emphasized that white supremacists are the greatest threat to the United States.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also The Trump Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump's Presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
