IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION 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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2024 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. CARTER of 

Louisiana, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 

to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to join 

in efforts to educate the public on the contributions 

of the Jewish American community. 

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; 


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•HRES 1215 IH 

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 the Anti-Defamation League’s 2023 Audit of 

Antisemitic Incidents tabulated 8,873 antisemitic incidents across the United States, representing a 140-percent increase from the previous year and the highest 


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number on record since the Anti-Defamation League 

began tracking them in 1979; 

Whereas, between October 7 and the end of 2023, the AntiDefamation League tabulated 5,204 antisemitic incidents, more than the incident total for the whole of 2022; 

Whereas the Anti-Defamation League recorded a 135-percent 

increase of incidents at K–12 schools, a 237-percent increase at Jewish institutions, and a 321-percent increase 

on college and university campuses compared to the same 

timeframe the previous year, with most occurring after 

October 7; 

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 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 


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trailblazer in the field of astronomy whose work established the existence of dark matter; Lillian D. Wald, a 

nurse who fought for public health care, women’s rights, 

and children’s rights and founded the Henry Street Settlement; 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 four 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 W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells to found the 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and 

3 civil society leaders to condemn and counter all acts 

4 of antisemitism; 

5 (2) calls on the executive branch and State and 

6 local leaders to educate the public on the contribuVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1215.IH HR1215

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1 tions of the Jewish-American community and uplift 

2 Jewish voices; 

3 (3) take all possible steps to ensure the safety 

4 and security of Jewish-American communities, in5 cluding by investing in the Nonprofit Security Grant 

6 Program and preventing terrorism and hate crimes; 

7 and 

8 (4) calls on educators and administrators to 

9 combat hate in academic settings. 

Æ 


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