Washington and the New Battle Against Antisemitism The Executive Branch, Congress, and the Role of National Authorities

Key Findings:

The Biden administration has condemned antisemitism and expressed their support of the Jewish community on several occasions. Dr. Lasensky suggests further action that can be taken by the Biden administration moving forward on the promise to fight back against antisemitism on a national level.

One of Dr. Lasensky’s main points of examination in this study is the response to antisemitism on a national level. Dr. Lasensky highlights that on an executive and national level, the response to antisemitic incidents has been, thus far, on the reactive end. He then suggests a unified, proactive approach that includes a clearly defined comprehensive national policy against antisemitism to be implemented in the future. Dr. Lasensky suggests that this approach, if taken, would be a key factor in advancing the fight against antisemitism in the US.

Lasensky details another issue that is deadlocking advancement on the fight against antisemitism on the national front— the politicization of antisemitism on both the right and the left. An effort of the White House to restore bipartisanship on the matter could lead to major positive changes in regards to policymaking and public discourse, according to Dr. Lasensky.

Though there are effective measures that are already in place to fight antisemitism in the US, there is much more than can be done, and Dr. Lasensky argues that the Biden administration is in a unique position to implement such changes, if the approach is proactive, rather than reactive, and is a unified collaborative effort between national authorities.