Agudath Israel of America congratulates the Biden Administration in the wake of the release of its National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism. It is a historic, comprehensive, “all-of-government,” initiative that seeks to fight Jew-hatred and its various ugly manifestations. Equally important, it sends a clear message that the United States – in its fundamental values, laws, and policies – finds antisemitism an unmitigated evil that is repugnant and intolerable and must be rooted out of the mindset and actions of American society.

As we approach the Jewish holiday of Shavuos, there is little time to review in detail all the pillars of the strategy, and we will have to delay that analysis until after the festival. We are pleased to note, however, that in it many Agudath Israel priorities are addressed – boosting the security of our people and institutions; the teaching of the Holocaust and its hate-filled horrors; combatting antisemitic discrimination and violence, so much of which is directed toward the Orthodox Jewish community; accommodating Jewish and other religious needs in federal programs run by the USDA, HHS, ED and other agencies; and many other areas in which we have worked for decades.

Finally, Agudath Israel expresses its deep personal appreciation to President Joe Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Ambassador Susan Rice, Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall, and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, among so many, for their vision, commitment, and extraordinarily hard work in undertaking and completing this initiative. We are proud to have been a contributing partner in this endeavor, invited to participate in several sessions at the White House and federal agencies with these and other officials to offer our thoughts and perspectives, and to engage in in-depth discussions, regarding the nature of the dangers facing the Jewish community in general and the unique threats to our Orthodox constituency in particular.

We remain committed to this outstanding initiative and to working with the Biden Administration in helping it live up to its great promise.