Jewish Republican Introduces Bill To ‘Combat Anti-Semitism’
David Kustoff, one of two Republican Jews in the House, is pushing a bill to slap heavier penalties and an automatic hate crime designation on those who threaten religious buildings, following March’s spate of bomb threats against Jewish community centers.
“Frankly, it wouldn’t matter what my religion is,” Kustoff, a freshman congressman from western Tennessee, told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. “The government has to send a message that these threats and these actions won’t be tolerated, and they will be prosecuted. If someone breaks the law, they can go to prison for a long time.”
The Combating Anti-Semitism Act, co-sponsored with Washington Democrat Derek Kilmer, would reclassify threatening a religious center, previously a misdemeanor, as a felony with a prison sentence of up to five years. The Anti-Defamation League has endorsed the measure.
Kustoff served as a federal prosecutor under former President George W. Bush, and he lives with his wife and children in the city of Memphis. Lee Zeldin is the House’s other Jewish Republican – he represents New York’s Long Island.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.