Video of Bennet’s Remarks Available HERE
Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet delivered a speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the antisemitic attack that occurred on June 1 in Boulder, Colorado.
“If there was any doubt that this was an antisemitic hate crime and an act of terror, the attacker has told investigators that–and let me quote–‘he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,’” said Bennet. “He did not have some intellectual point that he was trying to make about Israel’s policies. He was not trying to improve the lives of Palestinians. He simply wanted to kill Jews, by burning them, in the most painful way possible, and he knew where to find them–at the Pearl Street Mall, marching peacefully on behalf of hostages a terrorist group stole from their families.”
“Antisemitism, even American antisemitism, is an ancient prejudice indeed. It is not some kind of knee-jerk response to Israeli policy,” continued Bennet. “No, these antisemites use events in the Middle East as an excuse to express their latent antisemitism, their medieval hatred of Jews–who they blame for some swath of society’s ills.”
“We must use our voices and our power, whether in the halls of Congress or in our own communities, to counter antisemitism in both words and action. We must speak up, because we know the dangers of failing to do so. We must stand with the Jewish community, for freedom–of speech and religion–and against fear,” concluded Bennet.