Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement regarding the increased incidence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe, where mobs have shouted anti-Semitic slogans at synagogues and the homes of rabbis, as well as, attacked Jewish owned businesses in France, Germany, the Netherlands and unfortunately, here in the United States as well, where Rabbi Joseph Raksin of Brooklyn was murdered in a northeast Miami-Dade neighborhood as he was walking to synagogue, in a community which had been recently defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti.

“On behalf of the people of the Ninth Congressional District of New York and myself, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Rabbi Joseph Raskin. His senseless death reminds all of us that violence and hatred are a constant threat to peace and understanding. We all must do more to cultivate tolerance and respect for each other and for life itself.

“I also strongly condemn the disgraceful acts of violence intended to illicit fear and harm within the Jewish communities of Europe and here in the United States. Violence toward any community of faith threatens every community of faith,” said Congresswoman Clarke.

“I urge authorities here in the United States and in Europe to condemn these acts of violence, and to prosecute those individuals who are responsible to the full extent of the law. I ask that we all remain vigilant in the face of what appears to be an increasing problem of acting out in hatred. We cannot allow violence or threats of violence directed at any members of society to go unchallenged or left to fester and grow. These anti-Semitic incidents in Europe recall the worst atrocities of the Twentieth Century, in which anti-Semitism resulted in the death of millions of innocent people. We cannot repeat that history. We will not.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.