WASHINGTON D.C. — This week, Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, announced a hearing for next Wednesday, June 11, to assess the heightened threat of antisemitic terrorist attacks in the United States, especially in the wake of the recent attacks in Washington D.C. and in Boulder, Colorado. 

Earlier this week, Chairman Pfluger joined Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) on a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem requesting information on the Egyptian national charged with conducting the Boulder attack. On June 1, Chairman Green requested a formal briefing from DHS on the attack. 

“This week, our communities faced yet another stark reminder of the violent hatred that has been allowed to proliferate since the October 7 attacks. From harassment of Jewish students and calls to ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ to arson against the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania and the cold-blooded execution of two young Israeli Embassy staffers in our nation’s capital––the heinous attack in Boulder this Sunday is part of a disturbing pattern, not an isolated incident,” Chairman Pfluger said.“Antisemitic violence and harassment will not, and cannot, remain unchecked in the United States of America––whether it’s on college campuses or in our communities. In the wake of the foreign policy failures and open-border policies of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with state and local law enforcement, must be prepared to meet the moment as we face an increasingly complex threat landscape at home and abroad. Congress must ensure the United States remains a bastion of freedom for all, and that our Jewish neighbors can live free from hatred and persecution.”

Read more in Fox News via Diana Stancy.

DETAILS:

What: A Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hearing entitled, “The Rise of Anti-Israel Extremist Groups and Their Threat to U.S. National Security.”

When: Wednesday, June 11, at 10:30 AM EDT

Where: 310 Cannon House Office Building 

Watch: Witness testimony will be added here.The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube and will be open to the public and press. Press must RSVP in advance. 

WITNESSES:

Kerry Sleeper
Deputy Director, Intelligence and Information Sharing, Secure Community Network

Oren Segal
Senior Vice President, Counter-Extremism and Intelligence, Anti-Defamation League

Additional witnesses will be announced and are by invitation only.

BACKGROUND: 

In 2024, Chairmen Green and Pfluger sent a letter to then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray,  requesting information and documents pertaining to any efforts by DHS and the FBI to assist law enforcement and other partners in response to anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas mobs on college campuses. 

In October 2024, an illegal alien who had been released into the country under the Biden-Harris administration shot a Jewish man on his way to a Chicago Synagogue.

In 2023, the Subcommittee held a roundtable on the growing trend of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks against Israel by Hamas terrorists. 

In February, Chairman Pfluger introduced the “Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act,” which would require DHS to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the U.S. posed by terrorist organizations, like ISIS and al Qaeda, utilizing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) applications for terroristic activity. Chairman Pfluger also reintroduced the “Countering Online Radicalization and Terrorism Act,” legislation requiring DHS to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats posed to the United States by terrorist organizations like ISIS, al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others, utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging applications like Telegram.

In February, Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) introduced the “Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act,” legislation enhancing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) counterterrorism efforts by requiring an evaluation of the threat posed to the United States by individuals in Syria with ties to Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization (SDGT). Cosponsors of the legislation include Chairman Pfluger and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). 

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