House Panel’s Republicans, Democrats Concur on Scourge of Antisemitism, but Not on What to Do About It

Following a number of recent violent attacks in America that appear to have been driven by antisemitism, members of Congress are seeking solutions to the threat of anti-Jewish acts of terrorism.  

“The Jewish community has long been a vibrant and integral part of the nation’s fabric, yet today, too many Jewish Americans are now living with an ever-present fear for their families, their institutions, and their future, simply because of who they are and what they believe,” Rep. August Pfluger, chairman of the House Homeland Security Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, said at a hearing Wednesday.  

Pfluger, R-Texas, criticized American universities that have “become breeding grounds for antisemitism,” saying failure to take action against such behavior “is not neutrality; it is complicity.”  

“Silence and apathy in the face of antisemitism is not neutrality, it is permission to continue to act that way,” Pfluger continued. “It enables the hate to spread and the violence to escalate. We will no longer tolerate cowardice or indifference when Jewish lives are under threat.” 

The hearing, “The Rise of Anti-Israel Extremist Groups and Their Threat to U.S. National Security,” comes just weeks after Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a couple who were soon-to-be-engaged and who worked at the Israeli Embassy, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The man charged in their killing, Elias Rodriguez, shouted “Free Palestine!” when authorities arrested him immediately after the shooting.  

Less than two weeks later, on June 1, a man in Colorado used a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices as he also shouted, “Free Palestine,” and attacked a group of people in Boulder who were marching in solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. 

At the hearing, Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike condemned the rise in antisemitic violence in America, but expressed varied views on measure to address the issue.  

In the case of the attack in Boulder, Colorado, suspect Mohamed Soliman, who is facing 28 counts of attempted murder following the attack, was in the U.S. illegally on an expired visa.  

“We have to understand … that there are people who were let into this country over the last four years that have a tie to radical groups like al-Qaida, like ISIS, and that still affiliate with these groups and are prone to radicalization,” Pfluger said.  

James Carafano, an expert in national security and foreign policy at The Heritage Foundation, said one of the most important actions the government can take to prevent acts of terrorism in the U.S. is to coordinate local, state, and federal investigations into possible threats.

Coordination of investigations can extend beyond “immigration enforcement,” Carafano said, to additional areas of government, to even include threats that fall under the purview of the Treasury or Commerce departments.  

He also stressed the need to cut “one of the most vital sinews in the connection between material support and violent action, and that is terrorist travel.” 

Taking action to “thwart malicious travel and presence and entry in the United States are extremely efficacious in helping diminish the capacity to provide material support and reducing the likelihood of terrorist actions,” Carafano said, adding examples to include “border and immigration enforcement, deportations, [and] denial and revocation of visas.” 

While conservative witnesses and lawmakers raised concerns over the threat of terrorism stemming from illegal immigration and antisemitic ideology on college campuses, Democrats pressed the need for funding to address the issue of antisemitism.  

Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., the subcommittee’s ranking member, discussed his Jewish heritage in his opening remarks and said he and members of his family have experienced antisemitism 

“I want to make sure that our government is doing everything that it can to stamp this out and to keep people safe,” Magaziner said, before criticizing President Donald Trump’s actions downsizing the federal government that have led to the reduction of some federal government offices of civil rights.  

“I am concerned that President Trump has fired staff across the federal government who were tasked with investigating cases of violent antisemitism and other forms of hate, including over 100 employees at the [Department of Homeland Security] Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties tasked with investigating and stamping out violent antisemitism and other domestic violent extremism,” the Rhode Island Democrat said.  

Magaziner said “antisemitism on college campuses is a real problem that must be dealt with,” adding, “the way you deal with that is by strong oversight from the Department of Education, including The Office for Civil Rights, which has been gutted.”  

Pfluger closed the more than two-hour hearing acknowledging that combating antisemitism is a bipartisan issue and does require funding, but also requires policy and a willingness to “stand up to an antisemitic mindset that, unfortunately, has permeated our society.”  

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