The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday the creation of the Anti-Semitism Advisory Committee to “address the rising tide of antisemitism across the United States.” The formation of the advisory board comes as data shows that antisemitic crimes have increased to record levels in recent years.
Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, political pundit, and senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for the civil rights division in the Justice Department, was selected to lead the ASAC. Terrell is also the chairman of the Justice Department’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Under his leadership, ASAC will facilitate policy directives to the “Attorney General and Department of Justice leadership on coordinated, timely, and effective responses to antisemitism,” the Justice Department said in a press release.
“President Trump has made combating antisemitism a top priority for this Administration, and we thank Leo Terrell for his leadership at the Department of Justice in helping to carry out this mission,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press release. “Protecting civil rights of every American remains a core responsibility of the Department of Justice.”
ASAC will include a variety of “citizen leaders dedicated to combating antisemitism. Each representative will have diverse backgrounds and come from a variety of fields in hopes of achieving the “common goal of developing innovative solutions to address antisemitism across the country.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, (as of 2024) there has been an 893% increase in antisemitic acts nationwide over the last ten years. This includes a significant increase in violent, discriminatory acts in 2024, in which there was a reported 21% increase in assaults and 20% increase in vandalism. Taking into consideration all reported antisemitic acts between 2014 and 2024, the ADL claimed it is “the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents 46 years ago.”
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The Justice Department’s antisemitism initiative was hailed as the latest action taken by President Donald Trump to “combat antisemitism,” which, in addition to the creation of the new ASAC, included deploying “every available legal tool to protect Jewish Americans and confront antisemitic discrimination and violence.”
“President Trump has made combating antisemitism a national priority because no American should live in fear because of their faith,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “This Administration is using every tool available to confront antisemitic threats, support local communities, and ensure that radical activists and violent extremists do not intimidate law-abiding Americans.”
“The Department of Justice will act aggressively to protect civil rights and uphold public safety,” Woodward added.