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 con-
cerned 
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 com-
memorative 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 Jew-
ish-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 inci-
dents across the United States, representing a 140-per-
cent increase from the previous year and the highest 
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•HRES 1215 IH 
number on record since the Anti-Defamation League 
began tracking them in 1979; 
Whereas, between October 7 and the end of 2023, the Anti- 
Defamation League tabulated 5,204 antisemitic inci-
dents, 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 in-
crease 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 contribu-
tions 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 sup-
ported the American Revolution and Jewish community 
leaders advocated for freedom of religion for all Ameri-
cans upon the founding of our Nation; 
Whereas Jewish Americans have contributed to the advance-
ment of science to save countless lives and transform our 
understanding of the universe, including Vera Rubin, a 
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•HRES 1215 IH 
trailblazer in the field of astronomy whose work estab-
lished 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 Set-
tlement; 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 con-
tributions 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 Flor-
ence Prag Kahn, the first Jewish woman Member of Con-
gress and first woman to serve on the House Military Af-
fairs 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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•HRES 1215 IH 
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, in-
cluding Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who 
were murdered along with African-American activist 
James Chaney due to their efforts to register Black vot-
ers; 
Whereas Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel served as a close 
ally and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., march-
ing 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 contribu-
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•HRES 1215 IH 
tions of the Jewish-American community and uplift 
Jewish voices; 
(3) take all possible steps to ensure the safety 
and security of Jewish-American communities, in-
cluding by investing in the Nonprofit Security Grant 
Program and preventing terrorism and hate crimes; 
and 
(4) calls on educators and administrators to 
combat hate in academic settings. 
Æ 
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