New York, NY, November 28, 2018 …

ADL sent a letter yesterday evening signed by over seventy national and local organizations to urge the timely passage of two bipartisan bills designed to address anti-Semitism abroad.

The letter, which was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, encouraged Congressional leaders to use all the means at their disposal to pass the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act (S. 1292/H.R. 1911) and the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act (S. 198/H.R. 672). before the end of this session of Congress.  Notable signatories include but are not limited to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Orthodox Union, the Conservative denomination’s Rabbinical Assembly, and the Union for Reform Judaism.

In July ADL previously sent a letter urging passage of these two bills to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was signed by 14 other Jewish communal groups and Human Rights First.

The U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act was approved by the House this September by an overwhelming vote of 393 to 2 and has been under review by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since June 2017.  It would upgrade and emphasize the importance of filling the position of global anti-Semitism envoy at the State Department, which was mandated by law in 2004 but has been vacant since January 2017.

The Combating European Anti-Semitism Act was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January 2017 and was approved unanimously by the House a year and a half ago.  It emphasizes the serious security threats facing Jewish communities in Europe and mandates additional monitoring and reporting measures that the U.S. government should take regarding this threat.