US Senate passes resolution condemning rise in antisemitism

WASHINGTON – The US Senate passed by a voice vote on Monday a resolution “unequivocally condemning the recent rise in antisemitic violence and harassment targeting Jewish Americans, and standing in solidarity with those affected by antisemitism, and for other purposes.”

Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) and James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), co-founders and co-chairmen of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, led a group of 58 senators, 29 from each party, to join the resolution.

“Antisemitism remains a serious and growing danger for Jews in the United States and around the world,” the resolution reads. “In May 2021, antisemitic incidents and rhetoric have surged in the United States and around the world as hostilities between Hamas and Israel escalated.”

The resolution urges the president “to continue the leadership role of the United States in combating antisemitism internationally, including by nominating a qualified Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and engaging intergovernmental organizations to ensure that the anti-discrimination efforts of the organizations include combating antisemitism.”

President Joe Biden has not yet named his nominee for the position.

The senators’ resolution called to “ensure the physical security of Jewish institutions and organizations, including by requesting sufficient resources for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program of the Department of Homeland Security to keep at-risk houses of worship, schools and community centers safe from terrorist attacks and other forms of antisemitic violence.”

The Jewish Federations of North America on Monday said it applauds senators Jacky Rosen and James Lankford for passing the resolution, which “sends a clear message against antisemitism in all its manifestations in the US and around the world.”

“The resolution emphasized and affirmed that inaction is inexcusable,” it said in a statement. “We are grateful that the resolution expresses the Senate’s unwavering and unequivocal support of the Jewish community. We now call upon the federal government to fulfill the goals identified in this resolution by designating a qualified Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.”

Earlier on Monday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a survey conducted after Operation Guardian of the Walls in May. It found that three-quarters of American Jews “are more concerned about antisemitism in the US and abroad, and 60% have personally witnessed antisemitism because of the conflict in May.”

“The poll also found that 40% of American Jews are more concerned about their personal safety than before,” the ADL said. “Likewise, three-quarters of those polled (75%) indicated they were more worried than before about rising antisemitism in other countries spurred by the conflict.”

Among the findings of the survey of American Jews, some 53% said they have witnessed more behavior or conduct deemed antisemitic than before the outbreak of violence, 18% said one or more of their personal relationships have suffered because of conversations about the recent violence, and an overwhelming majority said they want federal and state leaders to do more to address the recent antisemitism.

“Around the recent conflict in Israel and Gaza, there was a significant surge of antisemitic incidents in the US and abroad,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “American Jews are understandably now more concerned about the potential for violence overseas spilling over into antisemitic threats close to home. The antisemitic attacks we’ve witnessed in the streets and on social media in the past few weeks are weighing heavily on the American Jewish community.”