Washington, D.C., June 20, 1996...In testimony before the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Anti- Defamation League (ADL) today outlined an Action Agenda of policy recommendations for Congress and the Administration to use in confronting the recent series of church arsons.

"An attack on a house of worship is much more than destruction of wood, brick, and mortar," said Lesley Israel, Chair of the ADL Washington Affairs Committee and a member of the ADL National Commission. "The destruction of a house of worship because of its religious character leaves all affected community members feeling isolated, vulnerable, and unprotected by the law.

"In our opinion," said Ms. Israel, "the intentional destruction of a house of worship because of the religious character of that property is exactly the sort of heinous crime which warrants priority attention."

Ms. Israel described a range of ADL actions in confronting the series of arsons, including: urging investigations by the Justice Department; assisting victims in local communities through the League's regional offices; a joint initiative with the National Urban League to help rebuild burnt churches; organizing security conferences and community-wide coordinating sessions on the arsons; supporting Congressional initiatives to facilitate Federal investigations and prosecutions in these cases, and reviewing existing hate crime statutes in the affected states to determine if they need to be supplemented, updated, or revised. Statutes based on ADL model legislation are now law in over thirty states.

The League's Action Agenda recommendations included:

*Enactment of legislation to provide a permanent mandate for the Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA)

*Increased funding for the Justice Department's Community Relations Service (CRS)

*Vigorous enforcement of existing hate crime statutes

*Promotion of hate crime training initiatives for Federal law enforcement officials

*A challenge to politicians and civic leaders not to engage in divisive appeals based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.