    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 115-434
    115th Congress

    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.

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    (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

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    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.''.

    Approved January 14, 2019.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 672:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
    Vol. 163 (2017):
    May 17, considered and passed House.
    Vol. 164 (2018):
    Dec. 22, considered and passed
    Senate.