Bipartisan Congressional Letter Urges Comprehensive Government Approach to Combating Rising Antisemitism in US

A bipartisan group of 125 U.S. Congress members sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday urging interagency coordination to monitor and combat the growing threat of antisemitism in the United States.

The initiative was led by Representatives Kathy Manning (NC-06) and Chris Smith (NJ-04), and Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), Co-Chairs of the House and Senate Bipartisan Task Forces for Combating Antisemitism.

“With Jewish communities worldwide facing increasing discrimination, as well as threats and acts violence, we believe a whole-of-government approach is needed to effectively address the scourge of antisemitism,” the letter — which can be read in full here — said.

The letter highlighted Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) findings showing that “antisemitic hate crimes rose by six percent in 2020, representing the highest total in 12 years and constituting 60 percent of all incidents based on religion.”

It continued, “Because many individual agencies play a critical role in combating antisemitism, closer coordination is needed to share best practices, data, and intelligence; identify gaps in efforts; streamline overlapping activities and roles; and execute a unified national strategy. The strategic collaboration of such entities would also send a key message to the American people and the international community that the United States is committed to fighting antisemitism at the highest levels.”

Last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Homeland Security Committee that the American Jewish community was “getting hit from all sides” amid a nationwide surge in antisemitic attacks.

Tuesday’s letter was signed by: Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), James Lankford (R-OK) Cory Booker, (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tom Cotton (R-AK), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY),Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-TN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN) Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA) Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Representatives Kathy Manning (NC-06), Chris Smith (NJ-04), Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Don Bacon (NE-02), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Ami Bera (CA-07), Donald Beyer (VA-08), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Anthony Brown (MD-04), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), David Cicilline (RI-01), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Gerald Connolly (VA-11), Jason Crow (CO-06), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Dwight Evens (PA-13), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Lois Frankel (FL-21), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), French Hill (AR-02), Richard Hudson (NC-08), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Mondaire Jones (NY-17), David Joyce (OH-14), John Katko (NY-24), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), James Langevin (RI-02), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Susie Lee (NV-03), Mike Levin (CA-49), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Grace Meng (NY-06), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Eleanor Norton (D-DC), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Scott Peters (CA-52), Dean Phillips, Katie Porter (CA-45), Maria Salazar (FL-27), Janice Shakowsky (IL-09), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), Brad Sherman (CA-30), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Thomas Suozzi (NY-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Mark Takano (CA-41), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Dina Titus (NV-01), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), David Trone (MD-06), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Rob Wittman (VA-01), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), John Yarmuth (KY-03), Lee Zeldin (NY-01).