Pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act

The most painful aspect of the rise of antisemitism in the United States is the targeting of our children. In the aftermath of the Hamas pogrom of October 7, 2023, campuses throughout the country became sites of exclusion, discrimination, and violence against Jewish college students.  

Jewish Americans, proud exponents of the civil rights tradition in this country, are turning to such remedies to address this problem. Introduced in both the US House and Senate, the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA) instructs the Department of Education to take account of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism in order to determine when harassment on campus may be motivated by anti-Jewish animus and therefore violates federal anti-discrimination statute. Despite the ostensibly arcane nature of the legislation, the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA) would prove a game-changer for both Jewish undergraduates and students at the K-12 level.  

In order to effectively combat antisemitism, it is necessary to define it. The IHRA definition’s merits include concrete examples of antisemitism that capture not only traditional anti-Jewish hatred and Holocaust denial but also modern antisemitism targeting Jewish Americans for association or perceived association with or connection to the State of Israel. 

This connection seems more than vindicated by the events of the last 15 months. The campus antisemites demand the expulsion of Hillel (Jewish student centers) in the name of “anti-Zionism.” Their comrades on the streets lay siege to synagogues and rampaged through Jewish neighborhoods invoking the same logic. Do not heed the pedantic debates in academia. Look reality square in the face: anti-Zionism is antisemitism. 

The Antisemitism Awareness Act merely recognizes this reality and equips the Department of Education to protect our Jewish students. Congress must look up from its squabbles about funding vehicles and judge confirmations to pass this critical legislation right now – our students can wait no longer for relief.

Despite the urgent nature of the issue, Congress has been sitting on its hands. Though the House overwhelmingly passed the AAA last spring, the Senate refuses to budge. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will not schedule a vote on the bill.

The Senate must stop hemming and hawing. Our children are suffering. The path forward is clear. Especially with ongoing negotiations on several large legislative packages, there are many avenues to passage that are waiting to be capitalized on. Now is the time to stand up and be counted. 

American Jews –and decent Americans of all faiths — demand Congress do the right thing: pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act before the current congressional term ends. 

One way or another.