Supporting the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act

I am writing in support of the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act, S.332 and H.R.768, also known as the HEAL act, directing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public schools nationwide. There is growing evidence that knowledge about the Holocaust is fading. A recent survey on global antisemitic attitudes found that 20% of respondents had never heard of the Holocaust. Less than half of respondents recognize the Holocaust’s historical accuracy, dropping to 39% among those aged 18 to 34 — highlighting the troubling decline in Holocaust education and awareness among younger generations. The HEAL Act will: Determine which states and school districts require or do not require Holocaust education in their curriculum; Determine which states and school districts offer optional Holocaust education; Identify the standards and requirements schools mandate on this Holocaust education; Determine the range of intended outcomes from a Holocaust education lesson plan and whether public schools use certain qualitative and quantitative strategies in their Holocaust education; Identify the types and quality of instructional materials used to teach about the Holocaust Identify in what school disciplines Holocaust education is being taught and the duration and comprehensiveness of any Holocaust-related courses/lessons provided by public schools; Identify the approaches used by schools to assess what students learn; and Report the results of the study to Congress. Currently, while 29 states have laws requiring public school students to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust, 21 continue to lack comprehensive or mandatory Holocaust education laws. This gap in standardized Holocaust education is particularly concerning as antisemitism surges to unprecedented levels around the country. The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) most recent Audit of Antisemitic Incidents captured 8,873 incidents throughout the U.S. — a 140% increase from 2022 and the highest number on record since ADL began tracking these events in 1979. I urge you to support the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act, and to give it your vote when it comes up for consideration. Thank you.