A bipartisan pair of senators have introduced legislation aimed at strengthening federal efforts to counter antisemitism.
The bill – S 4091 or the Countering Antisemitism Act – is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.
Under the legislation, the President would appoint a federal coordinator to oversee efforts to counter domestic antisemitism and create an interagency task force to coordinate the implementation of federal strategies, according to a text of the bill shared with CNN.
The federal coordinator and the new task force will also be required to conduct an analysis of antisemitism online.
The legislation would also require the designation of a senior official within the Department of Education to serve as advisor on the agency’s efforts to combat discrimination in higher education.
Among other actions, the bill would formally establish the month of May as “Jewish American Heritage Month” in federal law, according to the text.
“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 in a statement.
Sen. Lankford said, “In America, we have the right to have a faith and to live that faith. No American should live in fear that they will be attacked simply because of their religious views. As the number of acts of antisemitism continues to rise, Jewish communities across the US deserve action to protect this basic freedom.”
Lawmakers said Jews in the United States have faced a rise in discrimination since the Israel-Hamas war began in October and they hope the legislation ramps up the government’s response to it.
“There have been countless disturbing stories of Jewish families accosted and assaulted on streets, Jewish businesses and places of worship vandalized and desecrated, and Jewish students threatened at colleges and universities,” Rosen said.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, described the bill as “the most far-reaching antisemitism initiative ever to be introduced in Congress.” The group said it is launching a campaign to gain congressional support for the bill’s passage.
“The U.S. Jewish community is facing the worst crisis of antisemitism that we have seen in a generation. The Countering Antisemitism Act offers a smart, innovative whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to combating this hatred and protecting Jews around the country,” Greenblatt said in a statement.
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