Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman ROYCE for his leadership on this very important human rights issue, as he has done so ably and effectively on all of these issues, particularly his leadership on Iran; and that, of course, would be echoed with ELIOT ENGEL’s excellent work there as well. This is a group of leaders that have made a huge difference. So thank you, Chairman ROYCE, for that. H. Res. 354, Mr. Speaker, prescribes specific, effective actions that government should take in response to the deadly threats to the Jewish communities in Europe. As we all know, the number of violent anti-Semitic attacks have increased from 100 to 400 percent in some European countries since 2013 alone. Murders in Paris and Copen-hagen and elsewhere remind us that there are those who are motivated by anti-Semitic hate and have the will and the means to kill. I would just note parenthetically that my work in combating anti-Semitism began back in 1981, in my first term, from this very podium, speaking out in favor of Jewish refuseniks. I joined Mark Levin and the NCSJ 1 year later in 1982 on a trip to the Soviet Union where we met with men and women who were targeted by the KGB and the Soviet evil empire simply be-cause they were Jewish. Sadly, anti- Semitism has not abated, and in recent years, it has actually worsened. This resolution calls for the United States Government to work with our European allies on specific actions that are essential to keep European Jewish communities safe and secure. It is based on consultations with the leading experts who are working directly with these communities. The resolution focuses on the formal partnerships between European law enforcement agencies and Jewish community security groups. Here in the United States, Mr. Speaker, the collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and Security Community Network—an initiative of the Jewish Federation of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations—has been essential to protecting Jewish communities here. The formal partnerships between the Community Security Trust in the United Kingdom and the Jewish Community Security Service in France and their respective governments are also excellent models that need to be emulated. The resolution emphasizes the importance of consistent, two-way communication and information sharing between law enforcement agencies and Jewish community groups. It encourages the development of a pan-European information sharing, communication, and alerting system, and envisions governments, intergovernmental agencies, and Jewish communities working together on it. Such a system should function day-round and year- round and include training for personnel who are implementing it. The resolution also calls for European governments to support assessments in several key areas and accordingly adjust their actions and strategies. Details matter. The assessments should gather and analyze data on crimes committed, response from law enforcement, types of attacks or incidents that are most prevalent, and the types of targets that are most at risk. It is essential to understand how law enforcement agencies usually receive reports of anti-Semitic crimes and what initial actions they take when a report is filed. I remember years ago, when I offered a resolution at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, we heard that it was just hooliganism and other kinds of acts done by young people when you spray-paint a swastika on a tombstone in a Jewish cemetery, when you deface a synagogue, and you attack a man simply because he is wearing a yarmulke. Clearly, these are acts of anti-Semitic hate; yet, they were being dismissed as something that was other. Assessments are also needed on Jewish community security groups, particularly of their capabilities, re-sources, relationships with local law enforcement agencies, preparedness, including emergency response plans, and the extent to which their decision-making is based on the best available information, analysis, and practices. The resolution calls for governments to use these assessments to help these community groups develop common baseline safety standards. These standards should include, as I said before, training, controlling access to physical facilities, physical security measures, including cameras, and crisis communications. Emergency exercises and simulations, mapping access to facilities, and sharing information with law enforcement agencies should also be part of the standards. These assessments, Mr. Speaker, will help achieve the resolution’s call for law enforcement personnel to be well trained to monitor, prevent, and respond to anti-Semitic violence and to partner with Jewish communities. For all of these assessments, governments should draw information from sources that include Jewish groups, law enforcement agencies, independent human rights NGOs, research initiatives, and other civil society groups and leaders. H. Res. 354 calls for safety awareness and suspicious activity reporting campaigns, like ‘‘If you see something, say something’’ here in the United States. Other aspects of the resolution include appropriately integrating initiatives to counter violent extremism and those to combat anti-Semitism and the urgency of implementing the declarations, decisions, and other commitments of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that focus on anti-Semitism. To accomplish these goals, the resolution calls for European governments to ensure that they appoint or designate senior officials with the necessary authority and resources to combat anti-Semitism and collaborate with governmental and intergovernmental agencies, law enforcement, and Jewish community groups. Finally, the resolution reaffirms support for the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism as part of the broader policy of fostering international religious freedom and urges the Secretary of State to continue robust U.S. reporting on anti-Semitism by the Department of State and the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism. I would note parenthetically that I authored the amendment to the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, introduced and sponsored by Senator Voinovich. My amendment created the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti- Semitism within the State Department. That has proven to be a key tool in this fight. Mr. Speaker, the resolution has the support of leading organizations, and it has 89 cosponsors, including all eight of the co-chairs of the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism. I would like to acknowledge, Mr. Speaker, John Farmer, Jr., and Paul Goldenberg for their tireless efforts and dedication and leadership in fighting anti-Semitism and terrorism over the years. John is a former attorney general of New Jersey and is now on the steering committee of the Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security and is the codirector of the Faith-Based Communities Security Program at Rutgers University. Paul is the executive director of the Secure Community Network and a senior adviser to the Institute and the program. Several major Jewish communities in Europe have relied on their counsel, and both have spent time on the ground within these communities. Finally, I would like to acknowledge and single out for very, very special thanks and recognition Rabbi Andy Baker, personal representative of the OSCE chair in the Office on Combating Anti-Semitism and director of the International Jewish Affairs for the American Jewish Committee. He has been critical—critical—to American leadership in Europe and in the United States in the fight against anti-Semitism.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday I convened a Helsinki Commission hearing to scrutinize the European refugee crisis and help determine the most effective ways in which the U.S., the European Union, and the OSCE can and should respond.  The Syrian displacement crisis that has consumed seven countries in the Middle East has become the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. At least 250,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, many of them civilians.  The security forces of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s security forces have been responsible for many of these killings, targeting neighborhoods with barrel bombs and shooting civilians point-blank. ISIS has committed genocide, mass atrocities, and war crimes, against Christians and other minorities, and likewise targeted, brutalized and killed Shia and Sunni Muslims who reject its ideology and brutality.  Fleeing for safety, more than four million Syrians are refugees, the largest refugee population in the world, and another 7.6 million Syrians are displaced inside their home country.  Syria’s neighbors—Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt—are hosting most of these refugees. Before the Syria crisis, these countries struggled with high rates of unemployment, strained public services, and a range of other domestic challenges. Since the conflict began, Syrian refugees have become a quarter of Lebanon’s population, and Iraq, which has been beset by ISIS and sectarian conflict, is hosting almost 250,000 refugees from Syria.  Until this past summer, few Syrian refugees went beyond countries that border their homeland. Syrian refugees and migrants from a range of countries have since come to Europe in such large numbers, and so quickly, that many European countries, especially front-line entry points like Greece, transit countries like Serbia, and destination countries like Germany, have been challenged to respond.  The UN High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, reports that more than 635,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe by sea in 2015. Fifty three percent of these people are from Syria, sixteen percent from Afghanistan, six percent from Eritrea, and five percent from Iraq. Notably, only fourteen percent of them are women, twenty percent are children, and the remaining sixty-five percent are men.  The European crisis requires a response that is European, national, and international, and the United States is essential to it. There must be effective coordination and communication directly between countries as well as through and with entities like the OSCE and European Union. Individual countries also must have the flexibility to respond best to the particular circumstances in their own countries.  The response must address ‘‘push’’ factors, like economic challenges and aid short-falls in countries like Syria’s neighbors that have been hosting refugees. It must also address ‘‘pull’’ factors, like decisions individual European countries have made that have attracted refugees.  There is real human need and desperation. Refugees are entrusting themselves to smugglers and where there is human smuggling there is a higher risk of human trafficking. I am especially concerned about the risk of abuse, exploitation, and enslavement, of women and children. Already we are hearing reports that some European countries are failing to protect women and girls from sexual assault and forced prostitution. The lack of separate bathroom facilities for males and females, rooms that can be locked, and other basic measures, enable such attacks. There is no excuse for such failures and everything must be done to ensure that women and children are safe.  There is also the real threat that terrorist groups like ISIS will infiltrate these massive movements of people to kill civilians in Europe and beyond. I am deeply concerned that the screening at many European borders is inadequate and putting lives at risk. All of us must be responsive to the humanitarian needs without compromising one iota on security. European response plans should include specifics about strengthening security screening throughout the European region.  During the conflict in Kosovo, I travelled to Stenkovec refugee camp in Macedonia and was at the McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey to welcome some of the 4,400 people brought from there to the United States. A refugee—Agron Abdullahu—was apprehended and sent to jail in 2008 for supplying guns and ammunition to the ‘‘Fort Dix 5’’—a group of terrorists who were also sent to prison for plotting to kill American soldiers at the Fort Dix military installation. Given Secretary Kerry’s announcement in September that the United States intends to resettle at least 85,000 refugees in fiscal year 2016, including at least 10,000 Syrians, and at least 100,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017, the United States and Europe must be on high alert to weed out terrorists from real refugees.  Because religious and ethnic minorities often have additional risks and vulnerabilities even as refugees, they should be prioritized for resettlement. Tuesday’s hearing examined the ‘‘who’’ is arriving, the ‘‘why’’ they are coming to Europe, and the ‘‘what’’ has been done and should be done in response. European governments, entities like the OSCE and the EU, and civil society all have critical roles to play.  The United States has been the leading donor to the humanitarian crisis inside Syria and refugee crisis in the region. We also have the largest refugee admissions program in the world. However, according to Tuesday’s testimony from Shelly Pitterman, Regional Representative for the UN High Commission for Refugees, ‘‘The current inter-agency Syrian Regional Refugee and Resilience (3RP) plan for 2015 is only 41 percent funded, which has meant cuts in food aid for thousands of refugees.’’  Globally, he warned, ‘‘the humanitarian system is financially broke. We are no longer able to meet even the absolute minimum requirements of core protection and lifesaving assistance to preserve the human dignity of the people we care for. The current funding level for the 33 UN appeals to provide humanitarian  assistance to 82 million people around the world is only 42 percent. UNHCR expects to receive just 47 percent of the funding we need this year.’’  At the hearing, Sean Callahan, Chief Operating Officer of Catholic Relief Services, said, ‘‘As global leaders in the international humanitarian and refugee response, the U.S. and Europe must heed Pope Francis’ call and find new ways to alleviate the suffering and protect the vulnerable.’’ I could not agree more. In the 20th and 21th centuries, the United States and Europe have come together to address the great challenges of our time and this is an opportunity to do so again.