Israel and Jewish Issues
Throughout her years in Congress Congresswoman Maloney has been a vocal proponent for a close relationship between the United States and Israel. Israel is a strong American ally and the only real democracy in the Middle East. Congresswoman Maloney has stood with her constituents to support Israel at rallies in her district, as well as on the floor of the House.
Maintaining a strong US-Israel relationship: Congresswoman Maloney has always stood with her constituents in support of Israel. Israel has withstood decades of attacks from its neighbors, and yet has managed to maintain a flourishing, free and open, multi-cultural society that is at the forefront of many technological and medical breakthroughs. It is imperative that the United States maintains a strong relationship with the nation.
Foreign Aid: Every year, Congresswoman Maloney votes in support of maintaining $3.1 billion in annual aid to Israel. In the summer of 2014, Congresswoman Maloney also supported increased funding for the Iron Dome.
Ensuring Nazi war criminals do not receive Social Security benefits: Dozens of known Nazi war criminals have received millions of dollars in Social Security benefits since the Holocaust from the United States. Congresswoman Maloney has championed the effort to ensure the government ends all of these payments and holds these criminals accountable for their horrific human rights violations.
Facilitating a Two-State Solution: The United States should use its diplomatic and development tools to encourage Palestinian leaders to recognize Israel as a Jewish State and end terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.
Combatting Anti-Semitism: Congresswoman Maloney participated in an anti-Durban II conference and has spoken out against anti-Semitic acts around the world. She is also a member of the task force against anti-Semitism.
Select Highlights
- Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act: Congresswoman Maloney sponsored this act, which was signed into law on March 25, 2005. This law opened sealed government files that had remained closed for more than 50 years after World War II, in an attempt to create more transparency for Holocaust victims or their surviving family members and hold war criminals accountable. These files showed what the United States knew about these criminals and contained details of the United States’ relationships with former war criminals from Nazi Germany and Japan.
- Holocaust Education Assistance Act: The Holocaust was one of the darkest points in world history. Congresswoman Maloney believes it is important that current and future generations have an opportunity to study and better understand the Holocaust so that the country and world truly never forget. This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Education to issue competitive grants to educational organizations to initiate and fund educational programs on the Holocaust.
- SNCF Compensation for U.S. Holocaust Victims: In 2011 Congresswoman Maloney introduced the Holocaust Rail Justice Act. This legislation allowed Holocaust survivors and their families, who suffered death or injury while being transported to concentration camps on the national French-owned Rail line (SNCF) between 1942 and 1944, to seek justice from SNCF in U.S. courts. This important legislation sparked negotiations in 2015 between France and the U.S. State Department, which led to a historic settlement for these Holocaust victims. Read More
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More on Israel and Jewish Issues
(Reuters) - France said on Friday it had agreed to put $60 million into a fund managed by the United States to compensate Holocaust victims deported by French state rail firm SNCF to Nazi death camps, a deal that protects it from future U.S. litigation.
France has agreed to pay reparations to American survivors of the Holocaust who were deported to Nazi death camps in French trains, after a year of negotiations with the Obama administration.
The agreement, a bilateral accord with the U.S. government to be signed Monday, includes a $60 million lump-sum payment to be distributed among eligible survivors, their spouses and, if applicable, their heirs.
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) today released the following statement on the attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem, Israel that killed four people, including three Americans:
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), and Congressman Leonard Lance (R-NJ) today introduced the Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination Act. The bill affirmatively declares Nazi war criminals ineligible for federal benefits and instructs the Attorney General to inform the Social Security Administration when an individual has been denaturalized or has renounced his or her citizenship on the grounds of participation in Nazi persecution.
NEW YORK – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) will lead a Presidential Delegation to Poland for the opening of POLIN, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland on October 28. The Presidents of Israel and Poland will be leading the ceremony. Maloney leaves today for the trip with five other members of the Presidential Delegation.
WASHINGTON – Encouraged by news of State Department negotiations with French Rail Company Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) this week wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry to stress the urgency of delivering fair and reasonable reparations to Holocaust survivors and their families.
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today released the following statement on the passing of Leo Bretholz, a survivor of the Holocaust and tireless advocate for the 76,000 innocent Jews and thousands of other victims who were sent to death camps aboard Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) trains. Leo was 93.