WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the 57-nation Organization Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, today called on the Biden administration to send the highest possible representation to Ukraine for next week’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar Massacre. Senator Cardin was joined on the correspondence by a bipartisan group of co-signers, including Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jacklyn Rosen (D-Nev.) Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Babyn Yar is Europe’s largest mass grave. It is the final resting place of close to 100,000 souls and a powerful symbol of the “Holocaust by Bullet” that claimed 2.5 million Jewish lives across Eastern Europe. In the massacre’s first two days alone, September 29-30, 1941, more than 33,000 Jewish victims were shot dead by the Nazis.
“At a time when anti-Semitism is resurgent, it is essential that we mark the darkest points in history to remind us where it can lead. History teaches us grave lessons about the consequences of what happens when hate is unchecked, and the U.S. must continue to stand up for religious and ethnic tolerance around the world,” said Senator Cardin. “By sending a high-level delegation to Kyiv, the United States will show that it recognizes the atrocities committed at Babyn Yar and the threat rising anti-Semitism poses to global governance. It will also reinforce relations among countries that are committed to ensuring these atrocities are not forgotten and will never again be allowed to occur.”
Earlier this year, President Zelenskyy announced the building of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kyiv, which will be one of the largest Holocaust memorials in the world.
The complete text of Senator Cardin’s letter can be FOUND HERE.
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