U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report on Anti-Semitism

Below is the executive summary of the U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report on Anti-Semitism, released on December 18, 2024, which details the sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Speaker Mike Johnson launched a cross-committee initiative to address failures at universities, federal agencies, and tax-exempt organizations. Key findings include inadequate accountability for antisemitic actions at universities and insufficient oversight by agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services. The report recommends stronger protections for Jewish students, equal disciplinary treatment, and enhanced federal oversight of institutions receiving taxpayer funds.

Read the full report here.

Since the horrific terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the United States has witnessed an alarming surge in antisemitism. Across the nation, Jewish Americans have been harassed, assaulted, intimidated, and subjected to hostile environments—violations that stand in stark contrast to America’s fundamental values, including a foundational commitment to religious freedom for all.

In response, on April 30, 2024, Speaker Mike Johnson announced a unified U.S. House of Representatives initiative to confront this crisis head-on. This effort, spanning multiple committees, reflects an unwavering dedication to combating antisemitism and ensuring the safety and dignity of Jewish Americans. The initiative has been spearheaded by the Committees on Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, Veterans Affairs, and Ways and Means. Together, these committees have undertaken investigations into federal funding, federal departments and agencies, foreign student visa programs, and tax benefits granted to nonprofit organizations and universities, all to address the troubling rise of hate and extremism.

The Committees’ findings are alarming. For instance, some of our most prominent American universities refused to crack down on antisemitism. In fact, many colleges handed down disparate disciplinary actions for Jewish students versus their antagonists—the students who engaged in antisemitic behavior, encampments, and intimidating tactics such as campus checkpoints and tax-exempt organizations that enabled and funded violent campus protests, among other troubling findings. The failure of our federal government departments and agencies is astounding. For example, HHS and its grant-making agencies have entirely avoided any accountability for institutions to which they award millions of dollars annually.

The recommendations contained in this report are a result of thoughtful investigations by each Committee. These recommendations should not be taken lightly. First and foremost, as a nation we must protect Jewish citizens and students. That may require colleges and universities to use their vast endowments to better protect and support students on campus. Universities must ensure equal treatment for equivalent infractions. Students must learn that actions have consequences—not that there is a different standard based on race or ethnicity. This report reveals the lack of oversight of institutions receiving significant sums of federal grant money and the recommendations urge that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in particular, engage in more robust oversight. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has more work to do inside and outside their headquarters. This is not an exhaustive list—readers should refer to the subsections for more specifics.

As Speaker Johnson emphasized when he announced the House-wide initiative, “[n]early every committee here has a role to play in these efforts to stop the madness that has ensued.” Highlights of the initiative include:

The Committee on Education and the Workforce: Conducted oversight by holding hearings with students and university presidents and obtaining more than 400,000 pages of documents from postsecondary institutions through document requests and subpoenas to ensure accountability.
The Committee on Energy and Commerce: Conducted oversight of the federal agencies responsible for disbursing taxpayer-funded research grants to institutions and several institutions themselves.
The Committee on the Judiciary: Examined immigration policies and enforcement to address national security concerns, including foreign nationals with sympathies for Hamas entering the country.
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability: Examined the actions of officials in the District of Columbia as it relates to their refusal to adequately address unlawful and antisemitic protests.
The Committee on Veterans Affairs: Investigated antisemitic misconduct within the Department of Veterans Affairs and the inadequate internal investigation that followed such conduct. The Committee sent letters to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Governors of California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and North Carolina asking them to investigate through the State Approving Agencies whether certain universities were adequately addressing the education needs of Jewish veteran students and were providing the quality of education required for participation in the GI Bill. These states and universities were chosen because they received a D or an F rating from the Anti-Defamation League’s report card.
The Committee on Ways and Means: Investigated tax-exempt organizations and antisemitism across the country to hold bad actors accountable and ensure that tax- exempt organizations, including universities, are not abusing our nation’s tax code to support illegal activity or operate outside of tax-exempt purposes.

These robust, multi-faceted investigations have culminated in actionable findings and recommendations to safeguard Jewish Americans and uphold America’s commitment to religious freedom and safety. House Republicans remain steadfast in their commitment to addressing this fateful moment with moral clarity and decisive action, ensuring that Jewish Americans can live safely and freely in the United States of America. In the 119th Congress, we look forward to continuing to shine a light wherever antisemitism rears its ugly head.

Source: “Speaker Johnson, Committee Chairs Release Investigative Report Following House-Wide Effort to Combat Antisemitism,” United States House Committee on Ways and Means, (December 19, 2024).