The U.S. National Strategy To Counter Antisemitism

"[The first U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism sends a] clear and forceful message [that] in America, evil will  not win, hate will not prevail."

"The venom and violence of antisemitism will not be the story of our time."

U.S. President Joe Biden 

"I know the fear. I know the pain. I know the anger that Jews are living with because of this epidemic of hate."

"[I never envisaged this issue would become] my cause [as second gentleman of the U.S. [administration] but now, more than ever, we must all rise to the challenge and meet this moment."

Doug Emhoff, husband to U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris

"As we see antisemitism and extremism increasingly normalized in our politics and our society, the urgency of this framework is even more clear."

Amy Spitalnick, CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs

 

"It's particularly notable that this approach recognizes that antisemitism is not about politics — it's about principles."

"We are pleased that this strategy comprehensively addresses hate and antisemitism on campus, online, and from extremists on both the far-right and the far-left."

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt

President Joe Biden shakes hands with second gentleman Doug Emhoff during a celebration marking Jewish American Heritage Month last week. The administration has just released a comprehensive strategy for combating antisemitism. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In the United States, which has the second largest Jewish population in the world after Israel itself, a new announcement by U.S. President Joe Biden on the installation of what he described as the most ambitious and comprehensive undertaking by the U.S. government to battle against hate, bias and violence against Jews. Over 100 steps were outlined that the administration and its domestic partners are able to take in an all-out drive to combat a truly alarming rise in antisemitism.

The startling rise in antisemitism is certainly not limited to the United States. It is global in its spread, which makes it all the more puzzling and alarming. With the accession of Israel to its reborn status as the world's homeland for Jews on their ancient ancestral lands, and Israel's success in establishing itself as a democracy able to absorb the presence in their democratic model of other ethnic and religious groups along with a booming economy it almost seems as though the world has empathy with Jews only when they're in dire existential straits.

Israel's success in all indices of human life, consolidating its aspirations as a thriving, normal nation belying the effects of vigilance against constant violent attacks by neighbouring Palestinians appears to have soured a great swath of the world's population against Jews. Libelous slanders are welcomed as a way to tarnish diaspora and Israeli Jews alike, painting a deliberately canted view of the Jewish state as victimizing Palestinians whose leaders incite them to violence in a bid to unseat Israel from the Middle East.

Notorious public relations campaigns targeting Jews and Israel as 'occupiers' of their ancestral land who have as 'colonizers' wrenched it from the possession of Arabs from Egypt who migrated to the land familiarly known as Jewish Palestine to take advantage of better living conditions morphed into an Arab fantasy of authentic occupants of the land they claim as theirs alone, co-opting the name 'Palestinians' to prove themselves indigenous to the land. The ensuing hostilities and an organized Palestinian campaign to demonize Israel and by extension Jews who venerate Israel, has created an overwhelming wash of Jewhate.

The strategy that President Joe Biden spoke of in his announcement of the American government's commitment to battle antisemitism, has four basic goals:

• Increasing awareness and understanding of antisemitism including its threat to America and broadening appreciation of Jewish American heritage;
• Improving safety and security for Jewish communities;
• Reversing the normalization of antisemitism and countering antisemitic discrimination;
• Building 'cross-community' solidarity and collective action to counter hate.

Congress, state and local governments, tech firms and other private businesses, faith leaders and others are called on through the strategy to help combat bias and hate directed at Jews. "Zero tolerance" established by tech companies against antisemitic content on their platforms is a vital move. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum commits to the launch of an education research centre. The strategy asks professional sports leagues and clubs to use their platforms and clout to help raise awareness.

Members of the public will be invited by the White House public engagement office to describe how they have supported Jewish, Muslim or other communities different from their own. The strategy envisages an all-in effort on the part of all Americans, whatever their backgrounds, affiliations, and concerns to dedicate themselves to a combined effort to make the Unites States a cohesive, safe environment for all its citizens, including the historically embattled Jewish community, long an established fixture in America.

U.S. second gentleman Douglas Emhoff speaks to the press as he visits to the Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory Museum in Krakow, Poland, on Jan. 28, 2023.

AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk 

"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."

"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."

The White House Fact Sheet on Combating Antisemitism