Biden Administration to Counter Antisemitism with Inter-Agency Group

On the heels of the recent spike of antisemitic incidents in the United States, US president Joe Biden announced Monday the establishment of a new inter-agency group to counter antisemitism in the country.

The group, which will be led by the staff of the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council, aims to better coordinate and increase the efforts of the US Government to counter antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of bias and discrimination within the US.

Conveying President Biden’s clear message that antisemitism has no place in America, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre underscored in a statement that the antisemitism – including Holocaust denial – should be rejected forcefully by all Americans, wherever it exists.

She explained that the first order of business of the inter-agency group will be – as tasked by the President – to develop a national strategy to counter antisemitism that will address both online and offline antisemitic harassment and abuse, seek to prevent antisemitic attacks and incidents, raise understanding about the threat antisemitism poses to the Jewish community and all Americans, encourage whole-of-society efforts to counter antisemitism, and build a more inclusive nation.

Jean-Pierre said that Biden Administration is looking forward to countering the scourge of antisemitism by working with advocates, civil rights leaders, civil society, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

Previously this year, US Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter calling for a unified national strategy to monitor and combat antisemitism and ensure closer interagency coordination, which was signed by 125 of her colleagues in the Senate and House.

Both the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised the announcement, thanking President Biden for taking a step to develop a national strategy to combat antisemitism at a time when anti-Jewish incidents have risen to alarming levels all over the US.