FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, is set to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would establish a commission to study antisemitism in the United States.

The bill would the latest efforts in the House to address the sobering rise of hatred toward Jews in the U.S. 

If enacted, the bill would have a congressionally appointed commission investigate the problem over the course of a year and then present a report to the president and Congress with its findings and recommendations. The commission would be dissolved 120 days after it submits its report. 

The Iowa congresswoman told The Daily Signal that commission’s goal would be providing “factual information, factual data” on the rise in antisemitism.

“First and foremost, assert the awareness that the issue exists and acknowledgment that antisemitism acts have been on the rise, and this most recent one [the fatal shooting of a couple outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C.], I think, underscores the need for an overview,” the congresswoman said.

There then could be an education process about the findings of the commission that would potentially involve local officials and faith communities in addition to the president and Congress.

The commission would be empowered to hold hearings and issue subpoenas for testimony. It would also be granted the ability to “secure directly from any department or agency of the United States information” necessary to carry out its mission. 

The bipartisan panel would comprise eight members appointed by Democrat and Republican leaders in the House and Senate.

“It is not an issue that is relevant to only Republicans. There’s a lot of support across the aisle,” Miller-Meeks told The Daily Signal, adding that she had met with families of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Jewish Democrat colleague, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

The bill specifies that no more than four members of the commission can be members of the same political party. The chairperson and vice chairperson are to be decided jointly by the Speaker of the House and the House minority leader. It also instructs the commission to examine the causes of antisemitism “[w]ithout making any predetermined or political findings.” 

The call for the commission comes as the country is reeling after a young couple were fatally shot coming out of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21. Elias Rodriguez, who shouted “free Palestine” repeatedly before being taken into custody by the police, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The findings section of the bill details the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. It draws on statistics from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that show there has been an unprecedented increase in antisemitism since the deadly October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.  

Specifically, the legislation notes the 84% increase of antisemitic instances at American colleges and universities in 2024 compared with 2023. In total, the group recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2024, the highest number recorded since the group began keeping track 46 years prior. Much of that spike has occurred in the recent past; the ADL documented a 344% increase in incidents over the past five years. The incidents manifest in violence, including escalations in both assaults and vandalism. 

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