Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Antisemitism is on the rise in the United States and is impacting Jewish students in K–12 schools, colleges, and universities. (2) The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (referred to in this Act as the IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism is a vital tool which helps individuals understand and identify the various manifestations of antisemitism. (3) On December 11, 2019, Executive Order 13899 extended protections against discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to individuals subjected to antisemitism on college and university campuses and tasked Federal agencies to consider the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism when enforcing title VI of such Act. (4) Since 2018, the Department of Education has used the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism when investigating violations of that title VI. (5) The use of alternative definitions of antisemitism impairs enforcement efforts by adding multiple standards and may fail to identify many of the modern manifestations of antisemitism. (6) The White House released the first-ever United States National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism on May 25, 2023, making clear that the fight against this hate is a national, bipartisan priority that must be successfully conducted through a whole-of-government-and-society approach.