Press Releases

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02) announced his support for the Preventing Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Act. This legislation would require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to designate staff responsible for handling the expedited review of anti-Semitic hate crimes and reports for the next three years.

Additionally, this legislation will require the Attorney General to issue a report to Congress within 90 days of enactment and every 90 days after until December 31, 2024. This report would break down the number of anti-Semitic hate crimes reported to the FBI, the number of active anti-Semitic hate crime investigations conducted by DOJ, the number of prosecutions of anti-Semitic hate crimes conducted by the DOJ, and other efforts undertaken by DOJ to combat anti-Semitic hate crimes.

“The targeting of individuals because of their religious beliefs goes against the freedoms enshrined and protected in the Constitution,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga.  “The uptick in violence against Jewish Americans is appalling and completely unacceptable. The rhetoric coming out of Washington pertaining to Israel and Jewish Americans has real world consequences. I hope Congress can come together to reject anti-Semitism.”  

According to the 2019 Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Hate Crimes Report, which contains the most recent data, more than 60% of all hate crimes against any religious group in the U.S. are directed at the Jewish American community. Most recently, during the two weeks in May where Israel was under attack by Hamas, anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 63%, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League.

The Preventing Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Act removes the 10-year maximum penalty for federal hate crimes convictions if the offender has at least one prior conviction for a state or federal hate crime felony.