FILE – (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, led in the Senate by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC). The bill will help address antisemitism on college campuses—which has been rising across the Nation for years and spiked in the wake of Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023—by requiring the U.S. Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
“Amidst the horrific increase in reported antisemitic incidents on college campuses since October 7, we must do everything we can to protect Jewish students,” said Senator Casey. “This is a clarion call for Congress to step up and protect students. The House of Representatives answered that call today, and now it’s time for the Senate to act.”
The Antisemitism Awareness Act would make permanent the Department of Education’s consideration of the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism, which is a vital tool helping to clarify and identify the various manifestations of antisemitism. Since 2018, the Department of Education has used the IHRA definition when investigating violations of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This definition is supported by President Biden’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, was included in President Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, and has been used by the State Department since the Obama Administration.
In addition to Senators Casey and Scott, the Antisemitism Awareness Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rick Scott (R-FL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Boozman (R-AR), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Katie Britt (R-AL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Barrasso (R-WY), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Cornyn (R-TX), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The House companion is sponsored by U.S. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Max Miller (R-OH-07), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23).