WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, released the following statement honoring the victims of the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the deadliest targeted attack on the Jewish American community in American history:
“Today marks a solemn day in our nation’s history. Two years ago, our country witnessed an act of extreme anti-Semitic violence committed against a house of worship. This tragic attack targeting our Jewish community took the lives of 11 innocent people and wounded six others,” said Senator Rosen. “The shooting in Pittsburgh was not an isolated incident – statistics show that violent anti-Semitism is on the rise here in the United States and around the world. As we honor the memory of the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, we must also forcefully reject and condemn anti-Semitism, white supremacy, and hate in all its forms, so that no other community endures another devastating tragedy.”
BACKGROUND: Senator Rosen holds the distinction of being the third female Jewish Senator in U.S. history, as well as the first former synagogue president to serve in the United States Senate. As such, Senator Rosen has been an outspoken advocate of combating anti-Semitism in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and around the world.
In 2019, Senator Rosen introduced the Never Again Education Act alongside Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). This bipartisan legislation, signed into law in May, establishes a dedicated federal fund through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to provide teachers with resources and training necessary to teach our students the important lessons of the Holocaust.
Last year, Rosen launched the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, with co-chair Senator James Lankford (R-OK). The Task Force now includes 38 Senators, with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.
###
