10 Jewish Organizations to Senate: Trump’s Abuse of Antisemitism to Fight Civil Liberties is Reason to Not Give Him More Powers
April 29, 2025, Washington, DC—A coalition of 10 Jewish organizations sent a letter today to Senate offices calling on them to oppose the Antisemitism Awareness Act (S.558). The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) is scheduled to meet tomorrow to consider the bill.
The letter cautions that “Voting in favor of this legislation in this current political climate would represent an endorsement of the Trump Administration’s escalating efforts to weaponize antisemitism as a pretext for undermining civil rights, deporting political dissidents, and attacking the fundamental pillars of our democracy, making the Jewish community and others less safe.”
The organizations signing the letter are: Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Habonim Dror North America, Hashomer Hatzair USA, J Street, Jewish Community Action, New Israel Fund, New Jewish Narrative, New York Jewish Agenda, The Nexus Project, and T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.
“American Jews are not idiots,” said Hadar Susskind, President & CEO of New Jewish Narrative. “We know that Trump doesn’t care about fighting antisemitism. He is using attacks against our community for his own ends. It’s offensive, and it is dangerous. We’re asking the Senate not to fall for his lie.”
“We are witnessing the co-opting of the fight against antisemitism to pursue unrelated, authoritarian goals by the Trump Administration, and the so-called Antisemitism Awareness Act will give them another tool,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street. “Antisemitism is a serious problem and addressing it requires a multi-faceted strategy, but this legislation combined with the current administration’s actions aren’t making Jewish Americans any safer.”
“Preserving democracy and countering antisemitism go hand-in-hand,” said Jonathan Jacoby, National Director of The Nexus Project. “Senators who want to fight antisemitism must not allow it to be used as a cudgel for undermining democratic institutions.”
The full text of the letter is available at: https://www.newjewishnarrative.org/statements/joint-letter-to-us-senators-regarding-the-antisemitism-awareness-act