Dear Representative:

As members of the Jewish community, our personal experiences make us keenly aware of the impact education plays on preventing the rising antisemitism across the globe. Jewish Federations have long worked to create Holocaust education requirements in every state, but we also know that a requirement is only part of the solution – ensuring quality is another critical aspiration. That is why we support the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act of 2023 led by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and are writing to encourage you to become a co-sponsor.

This bill would require the Department of Education to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in states, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools. It would:

• Determine whether states and local educational agencies require Holocaust education as part of the curriculum;
• Identify states and local educational agencies that have optional Holocaust education as part of the curriculum;
• Identify each state’s standards and local educational agency’s requirements relating to Holocaust education, and summarize the execution of said mandates;
• Determine whether public schools use certain qualitative and quantitative strategies in their Holocaust education;
• Identify the types of instructional materials used to teach students about the Holocaust;
• Identify the duration and comprehensiveness of any Holocaust-related courses/lessons provided by public schools;
• Identify the approaches used by schools to assess outcomes; and
• Report to Congress with results of the study.

Antisemitism and hate continue to be on the rise in the United States. Many states do not have laws requiring their students to learn about the Holocaust, and many Millennial and Gen Z Americans do not know basic facts about the Holocaust.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2021 reporting of hate crimes shows the alarming increase of religiously motivated incidents targeting the Jewish community, the highest rate of any religious group, despite underreporting.

Robust Holocaust and antisemitism education are crucial to mitigating the hate threatening Jewish communities and their allies. That is why it is necessary for the federal government, through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education, to conduct a study, helping shed light and provide clarity on ways to improve Holocaust education for our younger generations.

The HEAL Act was introduced on Friday, January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, by a group of 60 bipartisan co-sponsors. I urge you to join them and sign on as a co-sponsor by contacting Josh Shapiro in Rep. Gottheimer's office at Josh.Shapiro@mail.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Dear Representative:

Thank you for signing on as a co-sponsor of the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act of 2023.

As members of the Jewish community, our personal experiences make us keenly aware of the impact education plays on preventing the rising antisemitism across the globe. Jewish Federations have long worked to create Holocaust education requirements in every state, but we also know that a requirement is only part of the solution – ensuring quality is another critical aspiration. That is why we support the HEAL Act of 2023 led by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

As you know, this bill would require the Department of Education to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in states, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools. It would:

• Determine whether states and local educational agencies require Holocaust education as part of the curriculum;
• Identify states and local educational agencies that have optional Holocaust education as part of the curriculum;
• Identify each state’s standards and local educational agency’s requirements relating to Holocaust education, and summarize the execution of said mandates;
• Determine whether public schools use certain qualitative and quantitative strategies in their Holocaust education;
• Identify the types of instructional materials used to teach students about the Holocaust;
• Identify the duration and comprehensiveness of any Holocaust-related courses/lessons provided by public schools;
• Identify the approaches used by schools to assess outcomes; and
• Report to Congress with results of the study.

Antisemitism and hate continue to be on the rise in the United States. Many states do not have laws requiring their students to learn about the Holocaust, and many Millennial and Gen Z Americans do not know basic facts about the Holocaust.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2021 reporting of hate crimes shows the alarming increase of religiously motivated incidents targeting the Jewish community, the highest rate of any religious group, despite underreporting.

Robust Holocaust and antisemitism education are crucial to mitigating the hate threatening Jewish communities and their allies. That is why it is necessary for the federal government, through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education, to conduct a study, helping shed light and provide clarity on ways to improve Holocaust education for our younger generations.

Thank you again for your support of the HEAL Act.

Sincerely,