Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act's Chances of Passage "very, very strong" - Lantos

"Two GOP lawmakers, Senator George Voinovich of Ohio and Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, are pledging to lead the fight for a bill requiring the State Department to create a special office to combat antisemitism and file annual reports on anti-Jewish activity throughout the world. The brainchild of Representative Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and the only Holocaust survivor in Congress, the measure is opposed by the Bush administration but is now expected to pass, with the help of its new Republican supporters.

The chances of the bill, the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, passing are now "very, very strong," Lantos told the Forward.

The emergence of GOP co-sponsors for Lantos's bill comes as Senate Republicans have made a priority of focusing attention on antisemitism. The GOP-controlled Senate approved legislation September 23 urging members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to consider appointing a "personal envoy" to ensure "sustained attention with respect to fulfilling OSCE commitments on the reporting of antisemitic crimes."

Senate Republicans last week took the unusual step of dedicating a major bloc of time on the Senate floor, including at least seven speeches in two days, to the rise of antisemitism worldwide and the need to combat it. The campaign was organized by Senator Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican, who last week told reporters that he supports the content of the Lantos bill."