The White House has taken a significant step in the fight against antisemitism, as eight federal agencies have officially declared that Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects against antisemitism. This move comes in response to a rise in hate crimes targeting Jewish people.
Under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs, the agencies have explicitly stated that the protections extend to “certain forms of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and related forms of discrimination.”
In a statement, the administration said that these protections provide important tools to combat discrimination based on shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, and to safeguard the civil rights of all Americans.
President Joe Biden had previously indicated this measure when he announced executive branch actions to counter antisemitism as part of his national strategy.
The eight federal agencies involved in this declaration are Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Treasury, and Transportation.
Staff at these departments will receive training to address discrimination and assist in filing complaints. They will also enforce protections within federally funded programs, such as combating harassment on transportation systems funded by the Transportation Department.
Each agency will analyze how Title VI covers discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. The Justice Department will provide further information on how these protections apply to individuals of other faith traditions, including Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist.
To ensure broad accessibility, the fact sheets released by each agency will be translated into multiple languages, including Yiddish, Jewish, and Arabic.
This announcement builds on President Biden’s national strategy to combat antisemitism, which was introduced in May 2023 and includes more than 100 steps to address hate crimes.
In reference to this initiative, President Bidenstated, “History teaches that hate never fully goes away; it only hides until it is given just a little oxygen. That is why we must confront antisemitism early and aggressively whenever and wherever it emerges from the darkness.”
Although Jewish Americans make up less than 3% of the U.S. population, they experience a disproportionate number of hate crimes. According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were nearly 3,700 antisemitic attacks reported in the U.S. in 2022, a 36% increase from the previous year and the highest number since 1979.
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