September 28, 2023 — New York
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, has created a series of guides to help various sectors of American society implement the recommendations put forth in the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
The guides build on AJC’s work supporting the White House in the drafting, amplification, and implementation of the National Strategy. They also complement the efforts of an AJC Task Force, composed of more than 50 AJC staff and three dozen leaders from across the country, to help ensure that the more than 200 recommendations in the strategy are carried out.
“AJC has long recognized that in order to make meaningful strides against antisemitism, we need a comprehensive, whole-of-society approach,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch, who announced the creation of the Task Force in June at AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv. “By showing how to implement the National Strategy’s recommendations, we can help leaders across sectors – including state and local government, Congress, K-12 schools, and universities – mount a more effective response to rising antisemitism.”
The guides released today include those for rabbis and congregations; state legislators; county officials; mayors; independent school administrators; higher education administrators; and Members of Congress to counter antisemitism in schools and college campuses.
Guides for additional sectors are slated to be released in October and through the end of the year.
Many of the recommendations in the guides mirror those in the 2022 AJC Call to Action Against Antisemitism, which amplified the need for a society-wide approach to fight antisemitism. Dozens of recommendations stemming from the Call to Action were included in the National Strategy.
This initiative comes in the face of a growing recognition that antisemitism in the U.S. is a problem that must be urgently addressed. The latest AJC State of Antisemitism in America report found that 41% of American Jews feel less secure about their status in the U.S. than a year ago. Nine out of 10 American Jews believe antisemitism is a problem in the U.S. and 82% believe it has worsened in the last five years, while four in 10 have altered their behavior in public to conceal their Jewish identity.
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York City, 25 offices across the United States, and 14 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 39 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. More at www.AJC.org.
