H.R. 6806 | A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Approach to Combating Antisemitism
Overview
The Antisemitism Response and Prevention Act takes a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to combating antisemitism by investing in what actually works. Introduced by Representatives Nadler, DeLauro, Balint, and Frost, ARPA recognizes a core truth: democracy and Jewish safety are inseparable. The bill provides substantial resources for education, civil rights enforcement, community security, and hate crime tracking—while including critical safeguards against the weaponization of antisemitism for partisan purposes. Importantly, ARPA adopts the Biden Administration’s U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism’s approach to defining antisemitism, recognizing that multiple definitions—including IHRA and the Nexus Document—are valuable educational tools for raising awareness and understanding.
Findings
The bill documents a 73 percent increase in antisemitic incidents since 2022 and a 360 percent spike following October 7, 2023. It also catalogs the administration’s pattern of weaponizing antisemitism—including misusing DOE investigations, applying the IHRA definition in immigration enforcement, and conditioning security grants on political objectives—actions that federal courts have repeatedly blocked as unconstitutional.
Key Provisions
Department of Education Office for Civil Rights: Authorizes $280 million annually for DOE’s Office for Civil Rights and reverses the Trump administration’s closure of regional offices. Requires certification that all closed offices are reopened and adequately staffed to handle civil rights complaints, with monthly congressional briefings and a prohibition on further closures without congressional authorization.
Hate Crime Reporting Center: Creates a dedicated center within the FBI to ensure accurate, comprehensive tracking of all hate crimes nationwide. The Center is led by a nonpolitical Coordinator with a six-year term—a career position filled by experts in hate crime monitoring rather than political appointees, ensuring continuity and independence from partisan pressure. The Center will conduct public awareness campaigns, partner with community organizations, and publish annual findings to close critical gaps in hate crime data.
Nonprofit Security Grant Program: Expands funding to $500 million annually to protect synagogues, Jewish community centers, and other at-risk institutions. Critically, the bill prohibits conditioning grants on immigration enforcement cooperation, diversity policies, or political positions—ending the administration’s practice of holding community safety hostage to unrelated political objectives.
National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism: Establishes a nonpolitical National Coordinator within the Department of Justice to lead a whole-of-government response to antisemitism. The position must be filled by a career civil servant rather than a political appointee, which is one of three layers of safeguards ensuring the Coordinator is insulated from political pressure and selected based on expertise rather than partisan affiliation. The Coordinator will implement the Biden Administration’s landmark National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and ensure federal efforts are evidence-based and developed with meaningful input from diverse Jewish communities.
Campus Title VI Coordinators: Requires institutions of higher education to designate Title VI compliance coordinators and conduct public awareness campaigns, while explicitly requiring institutions to distinguish between actual discrimination and constitutionally protected political expression.
Reports on Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: Requires annual reports from the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security on the propagation of extremist ideologies in public institutions and law enforcement organizations, including prisons. Additionally mandates quarterly reports assessing the scope of domestic terrorism threats in the United States and actions taken to combat them—ensuring ongoing congressional oversight of all sources of extremist violence.
Protecting Democratic Values
ARPA includes essential safeguards against weaponizing antisemitism for partisan purposes. The bill gives voice to the overwhelming concern within the Jewish community that the current administration’s approach to fighting antisemitism has been weaponized for partisan ends—and affirms the principle that Jews are safest in a healthy democracy that protects the rights of all. The bill affirms that criticism of Israeli government policy, when not expressed through antisemitic tropes, is protected speech under the First Amendment. It establishes that antisemitism definitions—including IHRA and the Nexus Document—are non-legally binding educational tools that should not be applied in punitive legal contexts like deportation proceedings. The bill declares it is against U.S. policy to use antisemitism accusations as pretext for attacking educational institutions, suppressing constitutionally protected speech, or enforcing ideological conformity.
Why It Matters
History demonstrates that Jewish communities are safest in robust democracies with strong civil liberties and inclusive pluralistic cultures. ARPA reflects this understanding by strengthening democratic institutions rather than undermining them. At a moment when some are exploiting Jewish fears to advance partisan agendas, this legislation shows Congress can take antisemitism seriously while defending the democratic values that have historically kept Jewish Americans safe. The bill’s evidence-based approach—funding education, security, and civil rights enforcement—addresses the real crisis of antisemitism without creating new tools for political weaponization.