Bipartisan group of lawmakers introduce bill targeting antisemitism

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives introduced Two bills to combat anti-Semitism were introduced Wednesday that would create a federal interagency task force against hate.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) led the Senate majority leader. anti-semitism lawMeanwhile, Representative Kathy Manning (DN.C.), Representative Chris Smith (RN.J.), Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), and Congressman Randy Weber (R-Texas) proposed the House version.

Rosen, Lankford, Manning and Smith lead the House and Senate Select Committees on Anti-Semitism.

The bill would establish the position of “National Coordinator to Combat Antisemitism,” the executive director tasked with implementing the Biden administration’s antisemitism strategy announced last May.

“Anti-Semitism has increased dramatically in the United States in recent years, and has skyrocketed in the months since the horrific October 7 terrorist attack on Israel,” Rosen, who is Jewish himself, said in a statement. “There are countless disturbing stories of Jewish families being attacked and assaulted on the streets, Jewish businesses and places of worship being vandalized and desecrated, and Jewish students being threatened at universities. ”

“My bipartisan bill would create the first-ever National Coordinator to Combat Anti-Semitism and take other much-needed steps across the federal government to combat anti-Semitic hatred, bigotry, and violence in the United States. “It will be,” she added.

The bill would also designate May as Jewish American Heritage Month under federal law, direct the Department of Education to appoint an advisor on anti-Semitism in higher education, and conduct a study on Holocaust education. ing.

“In America, we have a right to have faith and live our faith. No American should live in fear of being attacked for their religious views,” Lankford said in a statement. mentioned in. “As the number of anti-Semitic acts continues to rise, Jewish communities across America must take action to protect this fundamental freedom.”

The bill was praised by major Jewish organizations, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

A.J.C. called The measure is “the most comprehensive legislation to date to combat domestic anti-Semitism and protect Jewish communities across the country.”

So did ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. a label is attached The bill is “the most far-reaching anti-Semitism initiative ever introduced in Congress.”

“The American Jewish community is facing the worst anti-Semitism crisis in a generation,” he said in a statement. “The Anti-Antisemitism Act provides a smart, innovative, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to combating this hatred and protecting Jews across the country.”