US Bill Seeks to Keep Closer Eye on European Anti-Semitism

Bipartisan House measure stresses ‘urgent need’ to ensure safety and security of Europe’s Jewish communities

By Rebecca Shimoni Stoil | 8 October 2016

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL — (WASHINGTON) Motivated by what they described as rising anti-Semitism in Europe, members of a Congressional bipartisan task force introduced legislation Friday that aims to increase Washington’s monitoring of anti-Jewish incidents and the steps taken by European governments to combat them.

While much of the nation’s focus was trained on Hurricane Matthew smashing into the southeastern seaboard, Democratic representatives Nita Lowey, Steve Israel, Eliot Engel and Ted Deutch joined Republicans Chris Smith, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Kay Granger and Peter Roskam — all co-chairs of the House of Representatives Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism — in introducing the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2016.

In 2004, then-president George W. Bush signed into law the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act, which provides the legal foundation for an annual State Department report documenting anti-Semitism around the world. Over a decade later, in the face of rising anti-Semitism in Europe, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution in November 2015 calling on the secretary of state to continue robust reporting on anti-Semitism.

After that resolution, however, anti-Semitism continued to flourish. […]