Michigan Republican Congressman Bill Huizenga is appalled by the recent surge in violence against American Jews.
Calling the violence “completely unacceptable,” Huizenga also believes that the words being said by Washington politicians have a real world impact on anti-Semitism.
“The rhetoric coming out of Washington pertaining to Israel and Jewish Americans has real world consequences,” he said. “I hope Congress can come together to reject anti-Semitism.”
For just that reason, Huizenga is cosponsoring the Preventing Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Act. The legislation would instruct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to mandate staff responsible for the expediting of anti-Semitic hate crimes and reports for three years.
The Attorney General would also be required to issue a report to Congress within 90 days of enactment and every 90 days after that until the end of 2024. The report would analyze the number of anti-Semitic hate crimes reported to the FBI, the number investigated by the DOJ, the number of anti-Semitic hate crime prosecutions carried out by the DOJ and other DOJ efforts to counter anti-Semitic hate crimes.
The act would remove a 10-year maximum penalty for federal hate crimes if the offender has a prior conviction for a state or federal hate crime.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)