Calling on Elected Officials and Civil Society Leaders to Join in Efforts to Educate the Public on the Contributions of the Jewish American Community
Floor Speech
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Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1215) calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to join in efforts to educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish American community, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1215
Whereas the United States is a melting pot of heritages and cultures;
Whereas Congress has honored this mosaic of people and unique contributions to our communities through commemorative months;
Whereas, by honoring each other's cultures, we can educate ourselves about the rich diversity that makes up the United States;
Whereas ``Jewish American Heritage Month'' has its origins in 1980, when Congress enacted a Joint Resolution entitled ``Joint Resolution to authorize and request the President to issue a proclamation designating April 21 through April 28, 1980, as `Jewish Heritage Week' '', approved April 24, 1980 (Public Law 96-237; 94 Stat. 338);
Whereas, on April 24, 1980, President Carter issued the proclamation for ``Jewish Heritage Week'', and in that proclamation, President Carter spoke about the bountiful contributions made by the Jewish people to the culture and history of the United States;
Whereas Congress has played a central role in recognizing ``Jewish American Heritage Month'' since the Senate and the House of Representatives passed resolutions in 2006 and 2005, respectively, urging the President to proclaim the national observation of a month recognizing the Jewish-American community;
Whereas, since 2006, Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden have all issued proclamations for ``Jewish American Heritage Month'', which celebrates Jewish Americans and encourages all people of the United States to learn more about Jewish heritage and the contributions of Jewish people throughout the history of the United States;
Whereas Hamas heinous attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust;
Whereas Jewish Americans continue to face threats of violence from those inspired by Hamas or motivated by Israel's response to the Hamas October 7, 2023, attack on Israel;
Whereas, according to American Jewish Committee, almost two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the United States than they did a year ago;
Whereas the American Jewish Committee has found that nearly half of American Jews have altered their behavior due to concerns about antisemitism;
Whereas the American Jewish Committee has found that 74 percent of adults in the United States believe that antisemitism is a problem in the United States today;
Whereas Hillel International has reported 1,597 antisemitic incidents on college campuses since October 7, 2023, a 700- percent increase over the same period in the prior year;
Whereas the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism states that ``increasing awareness and understanding of antisemitism must be coupled with a commitment to broadening appreciation of Jewish-American heritage. We must tell the positive story of Jewish contributions to the United States and the World'';
Whereas Jewish Americans have made significant contributions to the arts, entertainment, science and technology, military, government, business, culinary traditions, and other fields in the United States;
Whereas several prominent Jewish Americans heroically supported the American Revolution and Jewish community leaders advocated for freedom of religion for all Americans upon the founding of our Nation;
Whereas Jewish Americans have contributed to the advancement of science to save countless lives and transform our understanding of the universe, including Vera Rubin, a trailblazer in the field of astronomy whose work established the existence of dark matter, Jonas Salk, a virologist who developed a vaccine against polio, and Albert Einstein who was named Time magazine's ``Person of the Century'' for his contributions to the study of mathematics and physics;
Whereas Jewish-American athletes excelled at sports while staying true to their heritage such as Sandy Koufax, who was the first major league pitcher to pitch 4 no-hitters and chose not to pitch during a World Series game when it fell on Yom Kippur, and Hank Greenberg, who was the first Jewish inductee in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954;
Whereas Jewish-American women have made significant contributions to American politics and activism, including Ernestine Rose, a Jewish immigrant who raised her voice to resist slavery and fight for women's suffrage and Florence Prag Kahn, the first Jewish woman Member of Congress and first woman to serve on the House Military Affairs Committee;
Whereas Jewish Americans long advocated for the education of all including Julius Rosenwald, who partnered with Booker T. Washington to invest in the education of Black students and built thousands of schools for Black students in 15 States in the South;
Whereas the Jewish community has long been involved in the civil rights movement;
Whereas Henry Moskowitz joined with civil rights activists such as Ida B. Wells to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909;
Whereas Jack Greenberg argued against segregation in Brown v. Board of Education as co-counsel to Thurgood Marshall and succeeded Marshall as Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund;
Whereas, during the Freedom Summer of 1964, half of the young people who went to Mississippi were Jewish, including Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were murdered along with African-American activist James Chaney due to their efforts to register Black voters;
Whereas Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel served as a close ally and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., marching with him from Montgomery to Selma in 1964;
Whereas, in 1964, 17 rabbis were arrested alongside Dr. King in Florida after challenging racial segregation in public accommodations; and
Whereas to counter the rise of antisemitism, it is critical to increase awareness of Jewish-American contributions, dating back to the founding of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society leaders to condemn and counter all acts of antisemitism;
(2) calls on the executive branch and State and local leaders to educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community and uplift Jewish voices;
(3) take all possible steps to ensure the safety and security of Jewish-American communities; and
(4) calls on educators and administrators to combat antisemitism in academic settings.
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Mr. JORDAN. Res. 1215.
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Mr. JORDAN.
Jewish American Heritage Month, first proclaimed by President George W. Bush and each President since, recognizes the contributions of the Jewish community to our country.
Recognizing this month is particularly important following the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and the flood of anti- Semitism that we have seen in its aftermath.
Weeks after the October 7 attacks, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the topic of anti-Semitism on college campuses. We examined the slow reaction to the sometimes violent pro-Hamas rallies and encampments at top institutions across our country.
One witness, a student from Cornell, testified that she had to think twice about having an outward sign of her Jewish faith because she feared for her safety on campus. Unfortunately, schools continue to see anti-Semitic and anti-American encampments and protests lasting months.
According to the American Jewish Committee, nearly half of American Jews have altered their behavior due to concerns about anti-Semitism. Almost two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the United States than they did a year ago.
Hillel International has reported 1,597 anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses since October 7, which is a 700 percent increase over the same period last year.
Last month, the Judiciary Committee held a second hearing about anti- Semitism on college campuses with students and experts. One student testified that bigotry, violence, and harassment had become part of daily life as a Jewish student at Penn.
Another testified that a university employee threatened him with a machete after the student denounced the defacing of campus posters that displayed the names and faces of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable and simply cannot continue.
This House, elected officials at the State and local level, faith leaders, community leaders, and university administrators all have an obligation to confront this anti-Semitism.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. I thank the ranking member of the committee for his work, and I thank the sponsor of the legislation, the gentlewoman from the great State of Florida (Ms.
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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, the Jewish American people have done so much for our culture and our country as have the Jewish people all over our planet.
I will also say that the Jewish nation has just done amazing things and they are our dearest and closest friend, the Jewish State of Israel.
My wife and I have had the opportunity to travel there five times, and we have enjoyed every single visit. It is just a fascinating, amazing place, amazing country, with amazing people.
We, as Americans, should do everything we can to help Israel win, as well as celebrate all the amazing contributions. We want to make sure they win this battle against a terrorist organization, not put limits on them, not tell them what they can and can't do, but help them win.
I think this resolution is in support of that overall effort, and we strongly support it.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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