A group of bipartisan, bicameral members of Congress introduced a bill on Wednesday, which is calling for coordinated federal efforts to counter antisemitism in the United States.
The bill aims to increase federal efforts from the White House to the Department of Education to tackle the rise in antisemitism across the country, reports The Jerusalem Post.
The „Countering Antisemitism Act” will establish a National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism within the White House who would serve as the president’s principal adviser on countering domestic antisemitism and chair an interagency task force. The National Coordinator will also conduct an annual analysis of the spread of antisemitism online and provide recommendations to Congress on how to counter it.
Under the bill, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and National Counterterrorism Center will have to jointly produce an annual threat assessment of antisemitic violent extremism.
According to Senator Jacky Rosen, who spearheaded the bill, the number of cases in which Jewish families were accosted and assaulted on streets has grown significantly since October 7, and countless Jewish businesses and places of worship have been vandalised and desecrated. Moreover, Jewish students have been threatened at colleges and universities.
„My bipartisan legislation would establish a National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism for the first time ever and take other much-needed steps across the federal government to fight anti-Jewish hatred, bigotry, and violence in the United States,” Rosen said.
The bill is the largest legislative package ever considered to combat antisemitism. It will combat antisemitism by establishing roles to provide transparent oversight, address Holocaust denials and distortions and counter discrimination on college campuses. The bill will also establish May as „Jewish American Heritage Month” in federal law.
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