H. Res. 1215 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

June 3, 2024. 

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 
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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; 
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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; 
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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; 
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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. 

Attest: 

Clerk.