Denouncing the rise of Islamophobia and antisemitism across the country.

Bill: 118-hres-1114
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5]
Introduced: 2024-04-05
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Latest action: action_date: 2024-04-05
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-04-05
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution recognizes that everyone has the freedom to express their race, ethnicity, and religion in whatever way they believe and that the increase in hate crimes, Islamophobia, and antisemitism is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1114 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 5, 2024 Mr. Gottheimer submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary , and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce , 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 Denouncing the rise of Islamophobia and antisemitism across the country.

Whereas, on October 14, 2023, Wadee Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian American, was brutally stabbed and tragically succumbed to his injuries; Whereas there is evidence Wadee Alfayoumi’s attacker yelled during the brutal murder, All Muslims must die. ; Whereas Hisham Awartani of Brown University in Rhode Island, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad of Trinity College in Connecticut, all at the time aged 20, were shot while on Thanksgiving break in Burlington, Vermont; Whereas, at the time of the shooting, Hiram Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two were wearing Palestinian keffiyehs, all three were shot, and one remains paralyzed; Whereas Paul Kessler, aged 69, accompanied a neighbor to an Israel rally at an intersection in Thousand Oaks, California, in November 2023; Whereas, during an altercation between protesters and counterprotesters, Paul Kessler was hit in the head and fell to the ground; Whereas Paul Kessler later succumbed to these injuries; Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that, in 2022, there was an increase of 794 reported hate crimes from the prior year; Whereas, in 2021, the FBI placed hate crimes at the same national threat priority level as preventing domestic violent extremism; Whereas the FBI has reported hundreds of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes between 2018 and 2022; Whereas FBI tracking of antisemitic hate crimes increased 36 percent in 2022; Whereas race, ethnicity, and religion-based hate crimes remain the most commonly reported hate crimes; Whereas no one should be a target of hate because of their race, ethnicity, or religion; Whereas misinformation, disinformation, and deeply offensive and stereotypical tropes and rhetoric are spewed on forms of social media, especially TikTok, which fuels sentiments of hate that result in violence against those who belong or are perceived to belong to a certain ethnic or religious group; Whereas nonprofit security grants provide crucial support for security to nonprofit institutions, including places of worship, which includes mosques, churches, and synagogues; Whereas faith-based institutions are susceptible to attacks by violent extremists and their radical beliefs; Whereas children in the United States, and those across the globe, deserve to live in peace and be free from all forms of discrimination, hate crimes, and violence; and Whereas all children deserve to live freely without fear of discrimination and hatred on the basis of their race, sex, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and disability: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives recognizes that— (1) all have the freedom to express their race, ethnicity, and religion in whatever way they believe; (2) the rise in hate crimes, Islamophobia, and antisemitism is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated; (3) social media companies and executives must do more to counter and limit the propaganda and violent rhetoric expressed across their platforms; and (4) nonprofit security grants are crucial to protect and ensure houses of worship and other nonprofit institutions have the security and resources they need.