Testimony of Kevin Rachlin for the Nexus Project before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Prepared Testimony

Thank you Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin and members of the committee.

My name is Kevin Rachlin and I am the Washington Director of the Nexus Project, a group committed to countering the dangerous spike in antisemitism in ways that bring communities together and that preserve academic freedom and the right to free expression.

Antisemitism in America has reached alarming levels. The latest available FBI data shows Jewish Americans — just 2% of our population — were targeted in nearly 60% of all religious-based hate crimes. That’s a significant 20% increase in just one year. This demands serious attention and urgent action.

Today we have heard from Ms. Solomon and Ms. Cojab about the human toll it takes on students. Harassment on campuses or protest chants targeting Jewish students because of their identity. Jewish students being excluded from organizations unless they renounce their Zionist identity. Synagogues, Jewish Community Centers and preschools require armed security guards. We even hear of Holocaust survivors who, for the second time in their lives, feel a need to hide who they are.

Whether it’s fallout from the October 7th attacks, or the growth of Nazi expressions online, Jews around the world have a heightened understanding of how much inherited fear and trauma that we carry with us as a result of the Holocaust.

So the normalizing of Nazi symbols, ideas and slogans is deeply shocking and upsetting. Seeing this salute, one of the most pervasive signals of antisemitism, on perhaps the most prestigious platform in the country is beyond terrifying.

Who could ever have imagined a president hosting a known Holocaust denier like Nick Fuentes or a rap star who promotes brazen antisemitism. Who could have imagined senior administration officials promoting “Great Replacement Theory” rhetoric—the same ideology that drove mass shootings at Tree of Life synagogue, El Paso, and Poway. What more troubling signal could there be to American Jews?

What’s most troubling is the lack of meaningful public condemnation when prominent figures like Steve Bannon and Elon Musk advance antisemitic conspiracy theories or Nazi salutes at major political gatherings. These gestures are celebrated and embraced by the most extreme parts of the hate movement. And the relative silence of too many of our politicians normalizes hate and emboldens those animated by antisemitic ideas.

Congress has spent more time in press conferences and hearings than on funding or voting for substantive solutions to this crisis. The Trump administration, meanwhile, seems to be using the legitimate pain of Jewish communities to advance an agenda that most Jewish Americans do not support.

A prime example is the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther.” This initiative is not endorsed by any major Jewish organizations, and was developed with minimal Jewish input. And it shows. Esther harmfully exploits our legitimate security concerns to sow fear and whip up support for policies that Jewish Americans have not asked for and overwhelmingly reject.

Project Esther paints liberal civil society groups as a “Hamas Support Network” without any proof. A recent Trump Administration’s Executive Order seeks to turn universities into immigration enforcers. These divide communities and wastes resources that could be used more practically to tackle actual antisemitism.

The demonizing of vital institutions in Esther is coming out of the mouths of our cabinet secretaries like Secretary Kennedy, who called universities “greenhouses for this deadly pestilence” of so-called “woke cancel culture.” This does not make Jews safer. It divides society and pits Jews against other vulnerable communities who also face xenophobia, hate and discrimination.

Jewish safety is most secure in healthy democracies with robust civil rights protections. History shows that we have been most vulnerable when democratic institutions are weakened or destroyed. Therefore, I urge this committee to consider four recommendations:

First, Speak out against antisemitism regardless if it comes from your party or group.This should be easy: no respectable person should stand by in silence when public figures use the symbols, slogans and ideas of the most antisemitic, hateful, genocidal regime in human history.

Second, instead of hearings and finger pointing, use your power to authorize concrete action like The Countering Antisemitism Act, which was introduced last year. While flawed, that bill enjoyed far more Jewish communal support than any Congressional initiative in recent memory.

Third, listen to Jewish voices. Listen to the large plurality of Jewish voices and organizations warning that America must not be allowed to slide into authoritarianism. Now, as throughout our history, attacks on pluralism and on democratic norms make us less safe.

And last, don’t discard the 2023 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. It is a landmark document developed with input from over 1,000 Jewish community leaders and welcomed by both sides of the aisle. We need thoughtful, evidence-based policies rather than rhetorical gestures that exploit fears for unrelated political objectives.

The most important way to confront antisemitism is to strengthen democracy, not undermine it. There has to be a way for leaders can protect Jews without targeting other communities. I stand ready to work with this committee toward real solutions that bring communities together rather than drive them apart.

Thank you for your attention, and I welcome your questions.