II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6090 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2024 

Received 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Antisemitism Aware3 ness Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

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

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

8 the basis of race, color, and national origin in pro9 grams and activities receiving Federal financial as10 sistance; 

11 (2) while such title does not cover discrimina12 tion based solely on religion, individuals who face 

13 discrimination based on actual or perceived shared 

14 ancestry or ethnic characteristics do not lose protec15 tion under such title for also being members of a 

16 group that share a common religion; 

17 (3) discrimination against Jews may give rise to 

18 a violation of such title when the discrimination is 

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

20 include discrimination based on actual or perceived 

21 shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; 

22 (4) it is the policy of the United States to en23 force such title against prohibited forms of discrimi24 nation rooted in antisemitism as vigorously as 

25 against all other forms of discrimination prohibited 

26 by such title; and 


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

2 Counter Antisemitism issued by the White House on 

3 May 25, 2023, it is critical to— 

4 (A) increase awareness and understanding 

5 of antisemitism, including its threat to America; 

6 (B) improve safety and security for Jewish 

7 communities; 

8 (C) reverse the normalization of anti9 semitism and counter antisemitic discrimina10 tion; and 

11 (D) expand communication and collabora12 tion between communities. 

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds the following: 

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

16 States and is impacting Jewish students in K–12 

17 schools, colleges, and universities. 

18 (2) The International Holocaust Remembrance 

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

20 Working Definition of Antisemitism is a vital tool 

21 which helps individuals understand and identify the 

22 various manifestations of antisemitism. 

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

24 13899 extended protections against discrimination 

25 under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to individuals 


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1 subjected to antisemitism on college and university 

2 campuses and tasked Federal agencies to consider 

3 the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism when 

4 enforcing title VI of such Act. 

5 (4) Since 2018, the Department of Education 

6 has used the IHRA Working Definition of Anti7 semitism when investigating violations of that title 

8 VI. 

9 (5) The use of alternative definitions of anti10 semitism impairs enforcement efforts by adding mul11 tiple standards and may fail to identify many of the 

12 modern manifestations of antisemitism. 

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

14 United States National Strategy to Counter Anti15 semitism on May 25, 2023, making clear that the 

16 fight against this hate is a national, bipartisan pri17 ority that must be successfully conducted through a 

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

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

20 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘definition of anti21 semitism’’— 

22 (1) means the definition of antisemitism adopt23 ed on May 26, 2016, by the IHRA, of which the 

24 United States is a member, which definition has 

25 been adopted by the Department of State; and 


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

2 antisemitism’’ identified in the IHRA definition. 

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

4 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. 

5 In reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there 

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

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

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

9 or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish ethnic char10 acteristics, the Department of Education shall take into 

11 consideration the definition of antisemitism as part of the 

12 Department’s assessment of whether the practice was mo13 tivated by antisemitic intent. 

14 SEC. 6. OTHER RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

16 this Act shall be construed— 

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

18 Education; 

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

20 Department of Education makes a determination 

21 that harassing conduct amounts to actionable dis22 crimination; or 

23 (3) to diminish or infringe upon the rights pro24 tected under any other provision of law that is in ef25 fect as of the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in 

2 this Act shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon 

3 any right protected under the First Amendment to the 

4 Constitution of the United States. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 1, 2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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