Washington, DC – Today, Representative Lois Frankel (FL-21), released the following statement commemorating Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Today, on Yom HaShoah, we remember the six million Jewish men, women, and children that were murdered during the Holocaust,” said Rep. Frankel. “I’m also thinking of survivors like Piotr, who at age 16 fled Ukraine to escape the Nazis, and now at age 96, has fled Ukraine once again to escape the Russians. Unfortunately, Piotr is not alone is experiencing a second hate-fueled expulsion from his homeland. If  ‘Never Again’ really means ‘Never Again,’ then we must recommit to our fight against antisemitism, hatred, and bigotry wherever it arises, and stand with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom from an oppressive Russia.”

Last November, Rep. Frankel introduced a bill to honor Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, with the Congressional Gold Medal. Mr. Ferencz brought 22 Nazi officials to justice during the Nuremberg Trials and has continued to be an outspoken advocate for human rights throughout his long and storied career. The push to award Mr. Ferencz with this honor has bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, including 263 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.

Yesterday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a harrowing report that details a troubling rise in antisemitism in the United States. According to the report, ADL tabulated 2,717 antisemitic incidents throughout the country in 2021, a 34 percent increase from 2020, and the highest number the ADL has recorded since it started tracking these cases in 1979.

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