The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that includes measures to combat antisemitism at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
H.R.4366, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2024 that was approved on July 27, now heads to the Senate.
“We must get the backs of those who had ours, support Jewish American veterans and address antisemitism in our government agencies—even at the VA—and wherever it rears its ugly head,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), who sponsored the amendment on addressing antisemitism at the Veterans Administration, told JNS.
“It’s critical that the VA incorporates training on combating antisemitism and bias, ensures their hospitals accommodate kosher meal requests for inpatient residents and recognizes the contributions of Jewish American veterans just as they do for every veteran across our great nation,” Gottheimer added.
In June 2020, then-U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie announced that gravestones with swastikas and messages referencing Hitler would be removed from military cemeteries. The VA had initially refused to remove the inscriptions but agreed to do so after a backlash from U.S. lawmakers and others.