[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1215 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
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 commemorative 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 entitled ``Joint Resolution to 
        authorize and request the President to issue a proclamation designating 
        April 21 through April 28, 1980, as `Jewish Heritage Week''', approved 
        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 the House of Representatives 
        passed resolutions in 2006 and 2005, respectively, urging the President 
        to proclaim the national observation of a month recognizing the Jewish-
        American community;
Whereas, since 2006, Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden have all issued 
        proclamations for ``Jewish American Heritage Month'', which celebrates 
        Jewish Americans 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 Holocaust;
Whereas Jewish Americans continue to face threats of violence 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 antisemitism 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;
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 contributions 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 supported the American 
        Revolution and Jewish community leaders advocated for freedom of 
        religion for all Americans upon the founding of our Nation;
Whereas Jewish Americans have contributed to the advancement 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 
        established the existence of dark matter, Jonas Salk, a virologist 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 mathematics 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;
Whereas Jewish-American women have made significant contributions to American 
        politics and activism, including Ernestine Rose, a Jewish immigrant who 
        raised her voice to resist slavery and fight for women's suffrage and 
        Florence Prag Kahn, the first Jewish woman Member of Congress and first 
        woman to serve on the House Military Affairs Committee;
Whereas Jewish Americans long advocated for the education of all including 
        Julius Rosenwald, who partnered with Booker T. Washington to invest in 
        the education of Black students and built thousands of schools for Black 
        students in 15 States in the South;
Whereas the Jewish community has long been involved in the civil rights 
        movement;
Whereas Henry Moskowitz joined with civil rights activists such as Ida B. Wells 
        to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
        (NAACP) in 1909;
Whereas Jack Greenberg argued against segregation in Brown v. Board of Education 
        as co-counsel to Thurgood Marshall and succeeded Marshall as Director-
        Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund;
Whereas, during the Freedom Summer of 1964, half of the young people who went to 
        Mississippi were Jewish, including Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, 
        who were murdered along with African-American activist James Chaney due 
        to their efforts to register Black voters;
Whereas Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel served as a close ally and advisor to Dr. 
        Martin Luther King, Jr., marching with him from Montgomery to Selma in 
        1964;
Whereas, in 1964, 17 rabbis were arrested alongside Dr. King in Florida after 
        challenging racial segregation in public accommodations; and
Whereas to counter the rise of antisemitism, it is critical to increase 
        awareness of Jewish-American contributions, dating back to the founding 
        of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society 
        leaders to condemn and counter all acts of antisemitism;
            (2) calls on the executive branch and State and local leaders to 
        educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community 
        and uplift Jewish voices;
            (3) take all possible steps to ensure the safety and security of 
        Jewish-American communities; and
            (4) calls on educators and administrators to combat antisemitism in 
        academic settings.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.