HR 1911: Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2018

Congress: 115 · 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 HR 1911.

Sponsor: Smith, Christopher H. (R-New Jersey)

Summary

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2018 (Sec. 3) This bill amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide that the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism shall have the rank of ambassador and be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Special Envoy shall: (1) be a person of recognized distinction in the field of combating anti-Semitism, law enforcement, or religious freedom; (2) serve as the primary advisor to, and coordinate efforts across, the U.S. government relating to monitoring and combating anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement in foreign countries; and (3) report directly to the Secretary of State.

Editorial Explainer

Elevates the State Department's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to ambassador rank, requiring Senate confirmation and making the position a direct advisor to the Secretary of State. The envoy must have expertise in combating antisemitism, law enforcement, or religious freedom, and coordinate U.S. government efforts to monitor and combat antisemitism and antisemitic incitement abroad.

Why it matters

This institutionalizes a diplomatic position focused on monitoring antisemitism globally, giving it higher bureaucratic weight and visibility. The bill does not reference or adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, so its speech-regulation implications are limited to traditional antisemitism monitoring rather than Israel-criticism-as-antisemitism frameworks.

Cosponsors (86)

Roll-call votes (428)