When Ben Cardin was a newly elected member of Congress from Maryland, he received a letter from the president of the Maryland Committee for Soviet Jews. It was 1987, and American Jewish support for Soviet Jewish emigration was at a crescendo. The letter was a reminder of how important the issue was for Cardin’s Jewish constituency.
It was signed by Myrna Cardin — Rep. Ben Cardin’s wife.
Cardin — now retiring as Sen. Ben Cardin — told this story to laughter last week after being honored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington for what will be 58 years of public service when his Senate term ends in 2025.
“I had to go home every night and report on what I was doing to help Soviet Jews,” he told listeners at Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac as he emphasized the role his values have played in his career, first in the Maryland House of Delegates, then in the U.S. House and Senate.
Cardin got involved in the Helsinki Commission, which promotes human rights. “And that led me to an effort with the late Sen. [John] McCain to develop legislation known as the Magnitsky statute.”
It was a novel way for the United States to respond to human rights violations, he said. It authorized the U.S. government to sanction foreign government officials who are human rights offenders, freeze their assets and ban them from entering the United States.
“It’s become the model sanction globally to deal with human rights violators and corrupt leaders,” he said.
Cardin, a reliable supporter of Israel, said it was important to educate the next generation of American leaders about the close relationship between the two countries.“
One of my missions in the United States Senate is to make sure that young legislators understand why that special relationship exists and the importance of Israel to the United States. … We have to make sure we do not reinforce partisans using Israel as a wedge issue in American politics.”
The relationship between the two countries is sound, he said.
“Look, we’re not even debating the financial support for Israel in any significant challenge this year in the Congress of United States. Because there is overwhelming support for that. We’ve developed that over the years.”
Much more recent is the government’s response to antisemitism.
“There’s been a rise in antisemitism that I never thought that I’d see in my lifetime,” he said. “There’s always been antisemitism, and I’ve experienced it. But we’ve never given oxygen to hate.”
Disinformation from leaders results in conspiracy theories (“And Jews are always in those conspiracy theories”) and “among a large number of people,” a distrust in government to solve problems. “And they believe that that are patriots in getting involved to bring about change.”
“It gets out of hand,” he said. “And we saw that in the insurrection on Jan. 6. Fringes that take issues in their own hands. And you get synagogues attacked. You get people killed. The reality today that is different than it was just a decade ago is that we have leaders that are giving oxygen to that kind of sequence.”
In response, “We have to have accountability. Leaders must speak out. We can never normalize or trivialize antisemitism.”
For the first time, an American administration is pursuing an “all-government approach” to antisemitism. “Every agency working together. And yes, it does involve security help to Jewish institutions. Over $300 million in security help has been appropriated for private institutions, including synagogues.”
He said that just as support for Israel requires education, “We’ve now appropriated money for Holocaust education at the national level. And we need to build coalitions with like-minded groups.”
He said that after his term ends, he plans to stay involved in issues important to him. “I’ll find a way to contribute to social justice, U.S.-Israel relations, for the Chesapeake Bay.”
And he’ll know how to reach Maryland’s next senior senator.
“I can’t wait to write a letter to Chris Van Hollen, telling him my views.” ■
