As Antisemitism Reaches Historic Levels, Rosen Visits Poland to Highlight Importance of Fighting Anti-Jewish Hate

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, recently returned from a visit to Poland, where she saw firsthand the devastating effects of the Holocaust and what happens when antisemitism and extremism reach record levels. While in Warsaw, the Senator met with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Central Europe office and members of the local Jewish community. She also met with the Director of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and toured the main exhibit. While in Krakow, Senator Rosen toured Kazimierz - the historic Jewish quarter - and visited the Galicia Jewish Museum to learn about the history of Jewish communities in Poland, particularly during the Holocaust. Senator Rosen met with the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, to discuss the current state of Jewish communities in light of rising antisemitism around the globe. She also met with the Director of the Krakow JCC, where she attended a Shabbat dinner with the local Jewish community.

Senator Rosen then visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, where she saw firsthand the horrors perpetrated at the site and paid her respects to the memories of those who were murdered there at the hands of the Nazis.

"As Jews across the world continue to be targeted and discriminated against for who they are, I recently traveled to Poland to bear witness to the devastating effects of one of the darkest chapters in history - a reminder of what happens when society ignores hate, and discrimination against a minority is allowed to grow unchallenged," said Senator Rosen. "During my trip, I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp and paid tribute to the more than one million Jews and innocent individuals who were violently murdered there at the hands of the Nazi regime. While I was there, I reflected on the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust and laid a wreath on behalf of the American people at the Death Wall, where thousands of innocent victims were killed."

"I also spoke with representatives from the growing Jewish community in Poland, who are a shining example of perseverance. As is the case in the United States, antisemitism from the right and left is a problem in Poland," she continued. "I will continue to work with my colleagues to address antisemitism globally and encourage the Polish government to finally pass a strategy to combat antisemitism to help this effort."

As the third Jewish woman ever to serve in the U.S. Senate and as the co-founder of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, Senator Rosen has been leading the fight against antisemitism in the United States and around the globe. Senator Rosen helped elevate the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism to the rank of Ambassador. Senator Rosen also successfully led the bipartisan push last Congress to reauthorize the bipartisan Never Again Education Act, which she was also instrumental in helping to pass in 2020. She is currently fighting to advance two of her bipartisan bills to fight antisemitism: the Jewish American Security Act (JASA), a comprehensive antisemitism bill focused on protecting Jewish Americans on campuses, in their communities, and online, as well as the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act, which would direct the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to study and report on state efforts to educate students on the Holocaust.

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