Advocates with the Anti-Defamation League are set to lobby lawmakers this week on a series of actions related to antisemitism, including pushing to jump-start the stalled Antisemitism Awareness Act.

In connection with the start of the school year, the ADL is bringing a group of around 30 volunteers to the Hill, hailing from 13 states, for meetings with 11 Senate and 11 House offices, including seven Republicans and 15 Democrats, a spokesperson told Jewish Insider.

The group’s agenda for the House includes the Antisemitism Awareness Act, the top-priority legislation for major Jewish groups since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, that failed to pass Congress in 2024 and has again stalled in 2025, after a contentious Senate committee markup earlier this year. The House has yet to take action on the bill.

“Antisemitism is showing up in classrooms, on campuses, and in the daily lives of Jewish students in ways we have not seen in generations,” Lauren Wolman, ADL’s senior director of government relations and strategy, told JI. “Our Back-to-School Lobby Day is about ensuring that Congress takes this threat seriously — not tomorrow, not next year, but now. Every student deserves to learn in a safe and inclusive environment, and that requires action.”

The ADL advocates are also set to lobby in support of the HEAL Act, which would order an audit of national Holocaust education programs; for “robust funding” for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which House Republicans and the Trump administration have aimed to cut significantly; and for lawmakers to send letters to elementary and secondary schools in their districts, calling on the schools to implement clear policies on antisemitic harassment.

In the Senate, the advocates are set to push for the passage of the Protecting Students on Campus Act, which aims to make it easier for students to file discrimination claims, requires schools to report annually on instances of discrimination on campus and requires the Department of Education’s Inspector General to audit schools with high levels of discrimination complaints.

The Senate agenda does not include the Antisemitism Awareness Act, the passage of which in the upper chamber has been complicated by a series of poison-pill amendments added during the committee markup.

The version of the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the House remains unamended and could be passed with bipartisan support as-is, if brought to the floor, whereas additional procedural steps would be needed to bring forward a clean version of the bill in the Senate.

In meetings with Senate offices, the ADL activists are also set to support the HEAL Act, OCR funding and letters to local schools. The ADL will offer a letter template to lawmakers with recommendations including adopting a definition of antisemitism.

“Bringing together advocates from 13 states to meet with both Democrats and Republicans demonstrates the breadth of concern and the urgency of this issue,” Wolman continued. “From first-time volunteers to seasoned ADL leaders, our message is the same: protecting Jewish students is not partisan, it’s a matter of basic safety and civil rights.” 

According to ADL data, there were more than 850 incidents of antisemitism at elementary and secondary schools in 2024, in addition to 1,700 incidents on campus. In total, the two categories account for nearly 30% of antisemitic incidents nationwide.