Congress: 114 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for S 3478.
Sponsor: Rubio, Marco (R-FL)
Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it is in the U.S. national interest to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad; (2) there is a need to ensure the security of European Jewish communities, including synagogues, schools, and cemeteries; and (3) the United States should continue to emphasize the importance of combating anti-Semitism in multilateral bodies. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is amended to require the Department of State's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom to include, for each European country in which threats or attacks against Jewish persons, schools, and religious institutions are particularly significant, a description of: the security challenges and needs of European Jewish communities and European law enforcement agencies; U.S. efforts to partner with European law enforcement agencies and civil society groups to combat anti-Semitic incidents; educational programming and public awareness initiatives that impart values of pluralism and tolerance, showcase the positive contributions of Jews, and pay special attention to population segments that exhibit a high degree of anti-Semitic animus; and efforts by European governments to adopt and apply a working definition of anti-Semitism.
The bill expresses Congress's support for combating antisemitism in Europe and requires the State Department to include in its annual religious freedom report information about security threats to European Jewish communities, U.S. efforts to work with European law enforcement on antisemitic incidents, educational initiatives promoting tolerance, and whether European governments have adopted a working definition of antisemitism.
The bill's requirement that European governments adopt 'a working definition of antisemitism' signals potential pressure toward the IHRA definition, which classifies several forms of Israel criticism—including describing Israel as 'a racist endeavor' or applying double standards to it—as antisemitic. This makes the bill a mechanism for embedding speech restrictions that conflate antisemitism law with Israel-protective policy.