I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6090 

To provide for the consideration of a definition of antisemitism set forth 

by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs 

or activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 26, 2023 

Mr. LAWLER (for himself, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. MILLER of Ohio, Mr. 

MOSKOWITZ, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. NORCROSS, and Ms. 

BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the consideration of a definition of antisemitism set forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or 

activities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Antisemitism Aware5 ness Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

4 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), prohibits discrimination on 

5 the basis of race, color, and national origin in pro6 grams and activities receiving Federal financial as7 sistance; 

8 (2) while such title does not cover discrimina9 tion based solely on religion, individuals who face 

10 discrimination based on actual or perceived shared 

11 ancestry or ethnic characteristics do not lose protec12 tion under such title for also being members of a 

13 group that share a common religion; 

14 (3) discrimination against Jews may give rise to 

15 a violation of such title when the discrimination is 

16 based on race, color, or national origin, which can 

17 include discrimination based on actual or perceived 

18 shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; 

19 (4) it is the policy of the United States to en20 force such title against prohibited forms of discrimi21 nation rooted in antisemitism as vigorously as 

22 against all other forms of discrimination prohibited 

23 by such title; and 

24 (5) as noted in the U.S. National Strategy to 

25 Counter Antisemitism issued by the White House on 

26 May 25, 2023, it is critical to— 


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1 (A) increase awareness and understanding 

2 of antisemitism, including its threat to America; 

3 (B) improve safety and security for Jewish 

4 communities; 

5 (C) reverse the normalization of anti6 semitism and counter antisemitic discrimina7 tion; and 

8 (D) expand communication and collabora9 tion between communities. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) Antisemitism is on the rise in the United 

13 States and is impacting Jewish students in K–12 

14 schools, colleges, and universities. 

15 (2) The International Holocaust Remembrance 

16 Alliance (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘IHRA’’) 

17 Working Definition of Antisemitism is a vital tool 

18 which helps individuals understand and identify the 

19 various manifestations of antisemitism. 

20 (3) On December 11, 2019, Executive Order 

21 13899 extended protections against discrimination 

22 under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to individuals 

23 subjected to antisemitism on college and university 

24 campuses and tasked Federal agencies to consider 


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1 the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism when 

2 enforcing title VI of such Act. 

3 (4) Since 2018, the Department of Education 

4 has used the IHRA Working Definition of Anti5 semitism when investigating violations of that title 

6 VI. 

7 (5) The use of alternative definitions of anti8 semitism impairs enforcement efforts by adding mul9 tiple standards and may fail to identify many of the 

10 modern manifestations of antisemitism. 

11 (6) The White House released the first-ever 

12 United States National Strategy to Counter Anti13 semitism on May 25, 2023, making clear that the 

14 fight against this hate is a national, bipartisan pri15 ority that must be successfully conducted through a 

16 whole-of-government-and-society approach. 

17 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

18 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘definition of anti19 semitism’’— 

20 (1) means the definition of antisemitism adopt21 ed on May 26, 2016, by the IHRA, of which the 

22 United States is a member, which definition has 

23 been adopted by the Department of State; and 

24 (2) includes the ‘‘[c]ontemporary examples of 

25 antisemitism’’ identified in the IHRA definition. 


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1 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR TITLE VI OF THE 

2 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. 

3 In reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there 

4 has been a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act 

5 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) on the basis of race, 

6 color, or national origin, based on an individual’s actual 

7 or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish ethnic char8 acteristics, the Department of Education shall take into 

9 consideration the definition of antisemitism as part of the 

10 Department’s assessment of whether the practice was mo11 tivated by antisemitic intent. 

12 SEC. 6. OTHER RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

13 (a) GENERAL RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

14 this Act shall be construed— 

15 (1) to expand the authority of the Secretary of 

16 Education; 

17 (2) to alter the standards pursuant to which the 

18 Department of Education makes a determination 

19 that harassing conduct amounts to actionable dis20 crimination; or 

21 (3) to diminish or infringe upon the rights pro22 tected under any other provision of law that is in ef23 fect as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (b) CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in 

25 this Act shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon 


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1 any right protected under the First Amendment to the 

2 Constitution of the United States. 

Æ 


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