[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 672 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.672

                     One Hundred Fifteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen


                                 An Act


 
 To require continued and enhanced annual reporting to Congress in the 
    Annual Report on International Religious Freedom on anti-Semitic 
    incidents in Europe, the safety and security of European Jewish 
   communities, and the efforts of the United States to partner with 
 European governments, the European Union, and civil society groups, to 
              combat anti-Semitism, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Combating European Anti-Semitism Act 
of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) During the past decade, there has been a steady increase in 
    anti-Semitic incidents in Europe, resulting in European Jews being 
    the targets of physical and verbal harassment and even lethal 
    terrorist attacks, all of which has eroded personal and communal 
    security and the quality of daily Jewish life.
        (2) According to reporting by the European Union Agency for 
    Fundamental Rights (FRA), between 2005 and 2014, anti-Semitic 
    incidents increased in France from 508 to 851; in Germany from 60 
    to 173; in Belgium from 58 to 130; in Italy from 49 to 86; and in 
    the United Kingdom from 459 to 1,168.
        (3) Anti-Zionism has at times devolved into anti-Semitic 
    attacks, prompting condemnation from many European leaders, 
    including French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, British Prime 
    Minister David Cameron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
        (4) Since 2010, the Department of State has adhered to the 
    working definition of Anti-Semitism by the European Monitoring 
    Center on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). Some contemporary examples 
    of anti-Semitism include the following:
            (A) Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or 
        harming of Jews (often in the name of a radical ideology or an 
        extremist view of religion).
            (B) Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or 
        stereotypical allegations about Jews as such, or the power of 
        Jews as a collective, especially, but not exclusively, the myth 
        about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the 
        media, economy, government, or other societal institutions.
            (C) Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real 
        or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or 
        group, the State of Israel, or even for acts committed by non-
        Jews.
            (D) Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of 
        inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
            (E) Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, 
        or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the 
        interest of their own countries.
        (5) On October 16, 2004, the President signed into law the 
    Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004. This law provides the 
    legal foundation for a reporting requirement provided by the 
    Department of State annually on anti-Semitism around the world.
        (6) In November 2015, the House of Representatives passed H. 
    Res. 354 by a vote of 418-0, urging the Secretary of State to 
    continue robust United States reporting on anti-Semitism by the 
    Department of State and the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor 
    Anti-Semitism.
        (7) In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance 
    (IHRA), comprised of 31 member countries, adopted a working 
    definition of anti-Semitism which stated: ``Anti-Semitism is a 
    certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward 
    Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are 
    directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their 
    property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious 
    facilities.''.
        (8) The IHRA further clarified that manifestations of anti-
    Semitism might also target the State of Israel, conceived of as a 
    Jewish collectivity. Anti-Semitism frequently charges Jews with 
    conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for 
    ``why things go wrong''. It is expressed in speech, writing, visual 
    forms, and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative 
    character traits.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) it is in the national interest of the United States to 
    combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad;
        (2) anti-Semitism is a challenge to the basic principles of 
    tolerance, pluralism, and democracy, and the shared values that 
    bind Americans and Europeans together;
        (3) there is an urgent need to ensure the safety and security 
    of European Jewish communities, including synagogues, schools, 
    cemeteries, and other institutions;
        (4) the United States should continue to emphasize the 
    importance of combating anti-Semitism in multilateral bodies, 
    including the United Nations, European Union institutions, and the 
    Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe;
        (5) the Department of State should continue to thoroughly 
    document acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement that 
    occur around the world, and should continue to encourage other 
    countries to do the same, and share their findings; and
        (6) the Department of State should continue to work to 
    encourage adoption by national government institutions and 
    multilateral institutions of a working definition of anti-Semitism 
    similar to the one adopted in the International Holocaust 
    Remembrance Alliance context.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORTING ON THE STATE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN EUROPE.
    Paragraph (1) of section 102(b) of the International Religious 
Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph:
            ``(G) Anti-semitism in europe.--In addition to the 
        information required under clause (vii) of subparagraph (A), 
        with respect to each European country in which verbal or 
        physical threats or attacks are particularly significant 
        against Jewish persons, places of worship, schools, cemeteries, 
        and other religious institutions, a description of--
                ``(i) the security challenges and needs of European 
            Jewish communities and European law enforcement agencies in 
            such countries to better protect such communities;
                ``(ii) to the extent practicable, the efforts of the 
            United States Government over the reporting period to 
            partner with European law enforcement agencies and civil 
            society groups regarding the sharing of information and 
            best practices to combat anti-Semitic incidents in Europe;
                ``(iii) European educational programming and public 
            awareness initiatives that aim to collaborate on 
            educational curricula and campaigns that impart shared 
            values of pluralism and tolerance, and showcase the 
            positive contributions of Jews in culture, scholarship, 
            science, and art, with special attention to those segments 
            of the population that exhibit a high degree of anti-
            Semitic animus; and
                ``(iv) efforts by European governments to adopt and 
            apply a working definition of anti-Semitism.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.