[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.