Administration announces 100 new actions and over 100 calls to action to combat antisemitism, including new actions to counter antisemitism on college campuses and online; whole-of-society strategy includes new stakeholder commitments.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. This strategy includes over 100 new actions the Administration will take to raise awareness of antisemitism and its threat to American democracy, protect Jewish communities, reverse the normalization of antisemitism, and build cross-community solidarity.
President Biden decided to run for President after what we all saw in Charlottesville in 2017, when Neo-Nazis marched from the shadows spewing the same antisemitic bile that was heard in Europe in the 1930s. That is why he has prioritized action to counter antisemitism and hate of all kinds.
The United States has recently experienced an alarming increase in antisemitic incidents, among other acts of hatred. American Jews account for 2.4% of the U.S. population, but they are the victims of 63% of reported religiously motivated hate crimes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
While antisemitic incidents most directly and intensely affect the Jewish community, antisemitism threatens all of us. Antisemitic conspiracy theories fuel other forms of hatred, discrimination, and bias-including discrimination against other religious minorities, racism, sexism, and anti-LGBTQI+ hate. Antisemitism seeks to divide Americans from one another, erodes trust in government and nongovernmental institutions, and undermines our democracy.
That is why, in December, President Biden established the Interagency Policy Committee on Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination, led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and National Security Council. As its first order of business, President Biden tasked this group with producing the first-ever U.S. national strategy to counter antisemitism in the United States.
This national strategy sets forth a whole-of-society plan that both meets this moment of escalating hatred and lays the foundation for reducing antisemitism over time. Informed by input from over 1,000 stakeholders from every sector of American society, it outlines over 100 new actions that Executive Branch agencies have committed to take in order to counter antisemitism-all of which will be completed within a year. The strategy also calls on Congress to enact legislation that would help counter antisemitism and urges every sector of society to mobilize against this age-old hatred, including state and local governments, civil society, schools and academic institutions, the tech sector, businesses, and diverse religious communities.
To support the whole-of-society call to action, today the Biden-Harris Administration also announced commitments to counter antisemitism and build cross-community solidarity by organizations across the private sector, civil society, religious and multi-faith communities, and higher education. Today's announcements include commitments from the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Asian American Foundation, Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance, College of William & Mary, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Foundation to Combat Antisemitism alongside six professional sports leagues, Interfaith Alliance, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Action Network, National Basketball Players Association, National Urban League, Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab at American University, Recording Academy, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, Sikh Coalition, Southern Poverty Law Center, and UnidosUS. The Administration calls on additional organizations to join this existing group in establishing their own impactful initiatives to counter antisemitism.
The Biden-Harris Administration will ensure the strategy's effective implementation and leverage it to advance our fight against other forms of hate. In addition, the strategy reaffirms the United States' unshakable commitment to the State of Israel's right to exist, its legitimacy, and its security-and makes clear that when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism.
To read the full strategy, all agency actions, and the Administration's calls to action, click here. Among other steps, the Biden-Harris Administration will:
Pillar 1: Increase awareness and understanding of antisemitism, including its threat to America, and broaden appreciation of Jewish American heritage
Far too many Americans do not recognize antisemitism and understand its threat to our society. The U.S. government will harness our collective resources to increase education about antisemitism and its threat to democracy, the Holocaust, and Jewish contributions to American society.
In 2024, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will launch the first-ever U.S.-based Holocaust education research center. Once the new center is fully operational, it will undertake systematic, rigorous, and actionable research into teaching and learning about the Holocaust and study the impact and effectiveness of Holocaust education in the U.S. Agencies will also create new materials on contemporary antisemitism and Jewish American heritage and history. The U.S. government will also bolster research on antisemitism, its impact on American society, and its intersection with other forms of hate through funding opportunities, resources, and outreach from several agencies.
Furthermore, the U.S. government will raise awareness on these topics both inside and outside of classroom environments, including in the workplace, in museums and libraries, and in the media. Federal agencies will incorporate information about antisemitic bias and discrimination and about workplace religious accommodations into their training programs. Additionally, the Office of Personnel Management, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Office of Management and Budget will conduct learning sessions for agency diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility officers on antisemitism and related forms of discrimination, as well as workplace religious accommodations.
Pillar No. 2: Improve safety and security for Jewish communities
All Americans deserve to practice their faith freely and live their lives without the fear of attack or harassment. Many Jews in America do not have that peace of mind. Violent attacks against Jews are increasing. Verbal harassment, bomb threats, and vandalism against Jewish people, synagogues, and community institutions remain prevalent. A more holistic approach to improve safety and security for Jewish and other vulnerable communities will help prevent violence against Jewish communities in the near term and reduce the threat in the future.
America cannot effectively counter antisemitism if we lack robust data on the phenomenon, online and in our communities. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, with the DPC and National Security Council (NSC), will launch an interagency effort to understand and eliminate the impediments to reporting of hate incidents.
The Administration will continue to prioritize combating hate and discrimination in all its forms, including hate crimes, and to ensure robust engagement between law enforcement, government leaders, civil rights organizations, and the communities they serve. Among other actions, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will conduct a series of workshops on countering antisemitic and other forms of hate-motivated violence against communities impacted by targeted violence. Department of Justice (DOJ) offices across the country will undertake targeted engagement with community-based groups including youth, faith leaders, cultural leaders, and civil rights organizers from Jewish communities and other communities victimized by hate crimes.
We will join Americans in expanding community-based prevention efforts to reach and guide individuals off the pathway to antisemitic violence. NSC will amplify financial, technical, and training assistance offered to state and local partners establishing and expanding these community-based prevention efforts.
