The bipartisan Violent Antisemitism Threat Assessment Act, introduced this week by Reps. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.), calls on the U.S. Department of Defense to produce a comprehensive report on the role of Jew-hatred in violent U.S. extremist movements.
“Antisemitism has long been a dangerous force in extremist movements, and today, it is resurging in ways that threaten both Jewish Americans and our broader democracy,” Vindman stated.
The bill would require the U.S. defense secretary to submit a report to Congress that includes an assessment of the threats that extremist movements pose in the United States.
Other federal agencies, like the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, keep tabs on extremist movements; however, the Pentagon “has the expertise and the visibility into these transnational threats to give Congress the clear, actionable information we need,” Vindman told JNS.
“Given the global nature of this threat, they are uniquely positioned to analyze the role antisemitism plays in violent extremism, both within the ranks and across the broader threat landscape,” he said.
Bacon told JNS that his research suggests that “most of the active international terrorism” movements are “also very much grounded in antisemitism.”
“But I’d like to see what the Defense Department says, if that’s true or not,” Bacon told JNS.
A co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, Bacon told JNS that he wanted to support Vindman, who was born in Soviet Ukraine to a Jewish family during the height of the Cold War.
Congress has struggled this year with legislation dealing with Jew-hatred. The Antisemitism Awareness Act has stalled, and funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program fell well below what Jewish leaders and experts say is needed to protect American Jews.
Vindman told JNS of his bill that there is “clear bipartisan interest in getting this done.”
“Antisemitism is a threat that endangers communities across the country and undermines our national security,” he told JNS. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move this bill forward and make sure we have the insights needed to combat this dangerous rise in extremist violence.”
Bacon said the bill is “benign” and “not controversial.”
“I see this as an opportunity to put a spotlight on what’s going on,” he told JNS. “We see such a rise of antisemitism in our universities, and on the streets of New York.”
“I see this as an opportunity to put light on a problem,” Bacon told JNS. “I’m trying to look at the first strategic view. If this helps create more conversation on the problem, that’s a good thing.”
