Kaine & Bipartisan Group of Colleagues Urge President to Develop National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism, Strengthen Response

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, joined Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK) and a bicameral, bipartisan group of their colleagues in urging President Biden to develop a unified national strategy to monitor and combat antisemitism. Amid the recent rise in antisemitism in Virginia and across the country, the letter specifically calls on the Administration to improve interagency coordination and strengthen our national response to antisemitic attacks. Since January, the Anti-Defamation League has reported antisemitic flyers in more than 100 Virginia cities and towns.

“We write to urge you to ensure leaders working within your Administration are working together to execute a unified national strategy to monitor and combat antisemitism,” wrote the lawmakers. “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.”

“We welcome the measures the Administration has taken thus far to address antisemitism. However, combating a growing threat of this magnitude, particularly here at home, requires a strategic, whole-of-government approach,” the lawmakers 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.”

In June 2021, a bipartisan resolution condemning the global rise of antisemitism, which Kaine cosponsored, passed the Senate.

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear President Biden:

As members of the House and Senate Bipartisan Task Forces for Combating Antisemitism, we write to urge you to ensure leaders working within your Administration are working together to execute a unified national strategy to monitor and combat antisemitism. With Jewish communities worldwide facing increasing discrimination, as well as threats and acts of violence, we believe a whole-of-government approach is needed to effectively address the scourge of antisemitism. History has taught us that attacks and conspiracy theories that target Jews not only threaten Jews, but frequently grow to threaten the security of other communities and the foundations of democracy. 

Rising antisemitism puts Jews both in the United States and around the world at risk. Antisemitic voices, inciting hateful and violent action, are finding new audiences, with anti-Jewish conspiracies gaining traction across the globe and through social media. In the United States, the evidence of rising antisemitism is clear and alarming. The Federal Bureau of Investigation found 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. Similarly, nonprofits focused on monitoring and combating antisemitism have also noted record-breaking highs in antisemitic incidents, with 2021 being the highest year on record – an increase of more than a third from 2020. Jewish communal institutions and synagogues are increasingly targets of violent attacks, as evidenced by the violent and often deadly assaults on the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2018, Poway, California in 2019, Jersey City, New Jersey and Monsey, New York in 2019, and Colleyville, Texas in 2022.

We welcome the measures the Administration has taken thus far to address antisemitism. However, combating a growing threat of this magnitude, particularly here at home, requires a strategic, whole-of-government approach. Interagency coordination also could benefit from considering a broadly understood definition of antisemitism, as several agencies have adopted or recognized individually. 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.

As such, we urge you to prioritize coordination among all agencies working in this space, including, but not limited to, officials from the Department of Homeland Security; the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Education, including the Office for Civil Rights; and the Department of State, including the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, the Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, and the Office of International Religious Freedom; in addition to representatives from the Intelligence Community; the Office of Management and Budget; the National Security Council; the Homeland Security Council; the Domestic Policy Council; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; in order to ensure all relevant entities within the Executive Branch and Congress are working in tandem. Creation of an interagency task force led by an official at the Assistant Secretary rank or higher is one way to accomplish such coordination.

Likewise, we request that agencies working collaboratively to combat antisemitism work with the leadership of the House and Senate Bipartisan Task Forces to Combat Antisemitism and key non-profit community stakeholders to develop a National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. Doing so will provide a cohesive and comprehensive plan for interagency efforts in this critical space.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response and continuing to work with you to combat antisemitism at home and abroad.

Sincerely,

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