Congress must act to protect Jews amid a massive increase in antisemitic incidents

Recently, hundreds of radicalized high school students rampaged through Hillcrest Public School in Queens in reaction to revelations that a Jewish teacher’s had attended a pro-Israel rally last week.

We were shocked but not surprised. The incident, which forced the teacher to hide in a locked office for hours, comes after a 400 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. since Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

With Congress back in session this week, concrete measures addressing antisemitism and keeping Jewish communities safe must be front and center for legislators. 

Before the Thanksgiving recess, in the same week that 300,000 people marched on the National Mall in support of Israel, at least three hearings took place on Capitol Hill to fight antisemitism, including the Education and Workforce Committee’s hearing “Confronting the Scourge of Antisemitism on Campus.”  

“It is in your hands (Congress) to ensure that Title VI is respected and enforced,” Rabbi Moshe Hauer told the committee, “and those same hateful words chanted in our streets not be part of the government-funded environments of our educational institutions that have tragically become discriminatory environments inhospitable to Jews.”

Indeed, there are several critical pieces of legislation Congress should pass this month. 

First, Congress must allocate an emergency $200 million in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in the emergency supplemental appropriations package, which is proposed to deliver aid to Israel and other urgent needs. Synagogues have seen a spate of vandalism, bomb threats and more. American Jews must be able to exercise our freedom of worship with freedom from fear. Grants from the Nonprofit Security Grant Program provide essential resources to protect synagogues and other Jewish community institutions from these threats. 

Similarly, Congress should allocate more funds to the Justice Department grant programs that support local police. Immediately after Oct. 7, many local police departments stepped up their presence and protection of our communities. But many have since pulled back, citing a lack of resources. The antisemitic atmosphere remains in place, and Congress must provide funds to pay police overtime to keep our communities safe.

As antisemitic incidents continue to roil university and high school campuses, Congress should pass the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act. It requires the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. That definition underscores that antisemitism includes denying Jewish self-determination to their ancestral homeland of Israel, holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel, and applying double standards to Israel. 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits entities that receive federal funds from discriminating on several bases, including “shared ancestry,” which has been interpreted to include discrimination against Jews. The Department of Education has warned universities that they must address antisemitism on their campuses or face investigation by the Department. Indeed, Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) just announced investigations into Cornell, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania for such violations.

However, the OCR’s tiny staff is overwhelmed by the drastic rise in antisemitic complaints as of late. Congress can help by allocating more resources to this office. Additionally, legislation should be passed to make it easier for the Department of Education to withhold federal funds from universities that are failing to follow the law and protect their Jewish students.  

Since the horrors witnessed on Oct. 7, American Jews have carefully watched the reactions of our elected leaders. We are grateful that the vast majority of leaders — in Congress and The White House — have stood with us and repudiated hate.

While Israel continues its war to eradicate Hamas and return the hostages, we ask Congress to continue to stand with the American Jewish community and enact legislation to keep our home front safe and secure.

Nathan Diament is executive director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.