The Office of the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism released yesterday a report on Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism. This report is a follow-up to the State Department’s January 2005 Report on Global Anti-Semitism. It reflects the United States’ deep commitment to take a strong stand against growing anti-Semitism around the world.

This report is dedicated to the memory of Tom Lantos, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives, a leader of moral force and a champion of human rights. As the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, he attested with uncommon eloquence to a truth based on unspeakable experience: promoting tolerance is essential to building a world of freedom and peace. It is in this spirit that the State Department will continue promoting tolerance and freedom around the world.

The report is thematic in nature and, using illustrative examples of contemporary forms of anti-Semitism, provides a broad overview of anti-Semitic incidents, discourse and trends. The report documents traditional forms of anti-Semitism such as those associated with Nazism, but also discusses new manifestations of anti-Semitism, including instances when criticism of Israel and Zionism crosses the line into anti-Semitism. The report covers anti-Semitism in both government and private media, and within the United Nations system. It concludes with a review of governmental and nongovernmental efforts to combat the problem.

The report is meant to serve as a resource for increasing understanding of contemporary forms of anti-Semitism and for shaping strategies to combat this growing problem worldwide.

The report on Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism will be available on the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism website at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/seas.