AJC CEO Ted Deutch
AJC CEO Ted DeutchReuters

The CEO of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, will joint a White House roundtable on combating antisemitism along with other heads of US Jewish organizations.

Deutch applauded the Biden administration for hosting the summit, which will take place on December 7.

AJC said in a statement that it has long called for such a meeting with antisemitism and other hate crimes in the US dramatically increasing in recent years.

“Antisemitism is not a problem for the Jewish community alone. Venomous hate targeting Jews threatens American society, indeed our democracy,” Deutch said. “By convening this important roundtable, the Biden administration has demonstrated that it recognizes the severity of the problem and is committed to taking additional steps, in partnership with the Jewish community, to more effectively confront antisemitism in all its forms.”

A recent AJC report found that 39 percent of American Jews had changed their behavior out of fear of antisemitism, including taking steps to hide their Jewish identity, and 24 percent reported they had been the targets of antisemitism.

Deutch urged President Biden to appoint a task force that would be mandated to create a national action plan to combat antisemitism.

Establishing such a task force is one of the key proposals in A Call to Action Against Antisemitism, AJC’s guide to addressing antisemitism in America.

“The Call to Action provides US leadership in all sectors of society with the knowledge and tools to understand, respond to, and prevent antisemitism. Recommendations for the executive branch can be found here,” AJC said.