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 com-
memorative 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 enti-
tled ‘‘Joint Resolution to authorize and request the Presi-
dent to issue a proclamation designating April 21 
through April 28, 1980, as ‘Jewish Heritage Week’ ’’, ap-
proved 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
•HRES 1215 EH 
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 Amer-
ican Heritage Month’’, which celebrates Jewish Ameri-
cans 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 Holo-
caust; 
Whereas Jewish Americans continue to face threats of vio-
lence 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 anti-
semitism 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;
•HRES 1215 EH 
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 
trailblazer in the field of astronomy whose work estab-
lished the existence of dark matter, Jonas Salk, a virol-
ogist 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 mathe-
matics 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;