US Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) giving speech. Photo: Reuters

US Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) announced on Tuesday that he will co-chair a bipartisan task force aimed at tackling antisemitism.

“I’m the new House Co-Chair for the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. I witnessed antisemitism at 15 and chose to intervene. I refuse to be a bystander as it spreads like a virus. We must confront all racism,” Bacon posted on X/Twitter. 

The House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism was first formed in the 1990s as the Congressional Task Force Against Anti-Semitism. The body was revived during the 114th session Congress in 2015. It spearheads congressional efforts to combat antisemitism and bolster the safety of the Jewish community.

The task force collaborates with the US Senate to create bipartisan initiatives with the aim of educating and informing communities about anti-Jewish hate. It also works alongside the White House, foreign dignitaries, federal agencies, local governments, activists, and educators to fight antisemitism. In addition, the group also advances educational initiatives and Holocaust remembrance activities with the goal of eradicating antisemitic bias and hatred. 

In the 16 months following the Hamas-led slaughter of roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping of 251 hostages throughout southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitism has surged across the United States. According to data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), anti-Jewish hate crimes ballooned by 63 percent in 2023, reaching record levels. A spike in antisemitic violence has been reported at synagogues, K-12 schools, and university campuses across the United States, underscoring the urgency of countering hate against Jews. 

The White House has made battling antisemitism a priority during US President Donald Trump’s first weeks in office. Last month, the Trump administration launched a task force to monitor and “root out” antisemitism on college campuses and schools.

Continuing work started during his first administration — when Trump issued Executive Order 13899 to ensure that civil rights law apply equally Jews — the “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism” calls for “using all appropriate legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise … hold to account perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.” The order also requires each government agency to write a report explaining how it can be of help in carrying out its enforcement.

Additionally, it initiates a full review of the explosion of campus antisemitism on US colleges across the country after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a convulsive moment in American history to which the previous administration struggled to respond during the final year and a half of its tenure.