Digital Library
The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism
Topic:
Antisemitism & Antizionism, Israel & Regional Politics
Principal Investigators:
Not listed
Study Date:
2023
Source:
White House
Key Findings:
This strategy represents the most comprehensive and ambitious U.S. government effort to counter antisemitism in American history. To implement this strategy, executive agencies will take a broad array of actions to address antisemitism. But the federal government cannot address antisemitism alone. This strategy also calls on Congress to act and play its part in countering antisemitism. It urges action from all of society—state and local authorities, civil society, community and faith leaders, the private sector, individual citizens.
This strategy advances a whole-of-society approach to countering antisemitism, resting on four pillars: 1: Increase awareness and understanding of antisemitism, including its threat to America, and broaden appreciation of Jewish American heritage. 2: Improve safety and security for Jewish communities. 3: Reverse the normalization of antisemitism and counter antisemitic discrimination. 4: Build cross-community solidarity and collective action to counter hate.
This U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism calls for action now and over the long term. Each Strategic Goal within the four pillars lists Executive Branch actions, Calls to Congress, and Whole-of-Society Calls to Action.
For example, Strategic Goal 3.2—Tackle Antisemitism Online; Executive Branch Action ‘Commerce will identify ways in which companies’ practices with respect to collecting, storing, using, and processing data can potentially drive antisemitism or lead to privacy harms that disproportionately impact Jews and other communities. This analysis will be included in a larger Commerce report, which will also identify policy recommendations to mitigate these harms against Jews and other historically marginalized communities. (By November 2023)’; Call to Congress 'We call on Congress to pass legislation requiring platforms to enable timely and robust public interest research, including on the spread of antisemitism and other forms of hate, using platforms’ data and analyzing their algorithmic recommendation systems, while maintaining users’ privacy.’; Whole-of-Society Call to Action ‘Encourage and support trusted [online] community moderators who receive dedicated, ongoing training in hate speech and bias, including antisemitism and its tropes.’
Methodology:
To develop this strategy, the Biden-Harris administration held listening sessions with more than 1,000 diverse stakeholders across the Jewish community and beyond. These sessions have included Jews from diverse backgrounds and all denominations. They met at the White House with Special Envoys who combat antisemitism around the globe to learn from their best practices. They engaged bipartisan leaders in Congress and from across civil society, the private sector, technology companies, civil rights leaders, Muslim, Christian, and other faith groups, students and educators, and countless others.
These listening sessions with stakeholders sought their perspectives, analysis, expertise, and views on how antisemitism manifests today and how we should fight it at every level, from the national scale to the grassroots. These discussions both provided critical insights into the experience of antisemitism in America and produced concrete ideas to counter it. They will also help inform subsequent comprehensive U.S. efforts to combat Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination.
The U.S. and the Biden-Harris administration embrace the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and additionally, welcome and appreciate the Nexus document and other such efforts.