The founders of the Lantos Foudation for Human Rights and Justice — Annette Lantos and her daughter Katrina Lantos Swett — will discuss the rise of anti-Semitism, human rights abuses, and share personal reflections on the Holocaust at three upcoming local events the weekend of Nov. 21-23 (see sidebar). 

The foundation is named after the late former Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to be elected to the United States Congress.  During his nearly three decades in the House of Representatives, Tom Lantos rose to become chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He also founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, now voted into law as the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

Annette Lantos, the congressman’s widow and also a Holocaust survivor, and their daughter, Katrina Lantos Swett continue Rep. Lantos’s work through the foundation. Annettee Lantos serves as the foundation’s chairman and as the honorary co-chair of the Tom Lantos Institute in Budapest.  

Katrina Lantos Swett is president of the foundation and serves as vice chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.  She teaches American Foreign Policy at Tufts University. She has lectured extensively across the globe on human rights issues.

The Jewish Light caught up with Katrina Lantos Swett last week for an interview.

What did your father do within Congress to advocate for human rights?

My father was a co-founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.  The personal stories of my parents inspired members of Congress from both parties to join in his work, and in a way that seems so different from our present state of divisiveness.  He was able to work across party lines, reaching across the aisle and bring together people of radically different viewpoints. 

You also serve as vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  How does that commission’s work relate to the goals of the Lantos Foundation?

One of the things I spoke about when I was chair of the Commission on Religious Freedom is in the context of religious freedom, the alarming emergence of a new outbreak of anti-Semitism, often thinly disguised as criticism of Israel.

 How can one detect the difference between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies from anti-Semitism under the guise of such criticism?

There are three characteristics I see regarding how to detect the new anti-Semitism.  First, does the criticism attempt to delegitimize the State of Israel itself?  Does it question its legitimacy as a member of the family of nations? 

Second, is the criticism and attempt to demonize Israel — for example by comparing its policies towards the Palestinians to the Nazi persecution of Jews, or to the former apartheid practices in South Africa?

Third, which in some ways is more subtle than the first two, do the critics hold Israel to a double-standard, that they do not apply to its neighbors, such as Syria for example?

If one or more of these elements is present, then [the criticism] is not legitimate, and we must push back against delegitimization, demonization and the double standard.  I have devoted much of my time to this issue as a member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Recently, Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and himself a Holocaust survivor, was in St. Louis, and in one of his talks he said that anti-Semitism now is worse than it has been since the late 1930s.  Do you agree with that assessment?

Sadly, I would have to say that in general, I think Abe is right on the money.  The situation is alarming and the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism has risen to a frightening extent.  There are things said now in relatively legitimate contexts that would have been quite unthinkable some years back.  I find it a matter of extraordinary concern. 

What has the Lantos Foundation done recently to combat this disturbing trend?

About a month ago, the Lantos Foundation, in collaboration with the Hungarian Initiatives Foundation in Budapest, sponsored a major event there, which addressed this very issue.  The focus of the conference was on the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. We had over 500 participants and had attendees from around the world, including Israeli Cabinet member Yair Lapid, whose father, like mine, was a Hungarian Holocaust survivor. 

Attending also was the deputy prime minister of Greece, who addressed the conference the day after his government outlawed the (fascistic) Golden Dawn Party and arrested some of its leaders for being involved in a criminal enterprise.  He received a standing ovation.

What else was accomplished at this conference?

We heard a very significant statement by Tibor Navracsics, speaking on behalf of the Hungarian government, which for the first time accepted responsibility for the complicity of the Hungarian government during World War II for its role in the Shoah.  This was the first time that such an admission was made in such a clear, unequivocal and un-nuanced manner.  The bulk of Hungary’s Jews — 500,000 of them —were deported.  This would have been impossible without incredibly strong support on the part of a large part of the Hungarian people.  We hope that this conference is an important step in finally and officially setting the record straight.

For years we have said, “never again,” to genocide, and yet since 1945 and the liberation of the death camps, we have had mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Darfur, Congo and now in Syria. Has “never again” become a hollow slogan?

The Lantos Foundation rarely, if ever invokes ‘never again.’  We prefer a different credo.  My father had a motto, which is on view at the Lantos Foundation headquarters.  It says, “The veneer of civilization is paper thin.  We are its guardians.  Vigilance must be ongoing.  We can never rest.”  That remains our goal and we cannot take time out to let despair overwhelm us and deflect us from that goal.

What are some of the ways in which people can get involved?

Part of the message we will bring are the core principles of my father and mother — both Holocaust survivors — the experience of being able to come to this country.  They were able to walk through the door to a wonderful and very decent life for themselves and their two daughters. Because of the experiences they went through they felt a deep sense of obligation to become involved.  My father became this wonderful leading voice on behalf of human rights.