WASHINGTON D.C. — This week, Fox News covered a House Committee on Homeland Security roundtable led by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. The July 22 event provided members with the opportunity to hear directly from law enforcement officials and Jewish community leaders about their perspectives and priorities concerning the rising threat of antisemitism and anti-Israel violence. 

Participants included Committee members alongside representatives from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), the Secure Community Network (SCN), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA). 

Discussion focused on efforts to engage with Jewish organizations and communities to better understand their security concerns, emphasizing the need to improve interagency coordination, intelligence sharing, training, and enforcement mechanisms. They also addressed the rise of both homegrown and foreign-influenced extremism.

The group highlighted significant threats stemming from gaps in information sharing and stressed the importance of developing an integrated system to communicate threats against Jewish communities more rapidly and effectively. The roundtable also examined how extremist narratives spread, particularly on college campuses and through social media. Chairman Pfluger and others noted that college campuses have unfortunately become focal points for antisemitic incidents, including protests that have sometimes escalated into harassment, vandalism, and violence. Concerns remain over inconsistent enforcement in response to these incidents, underscoring the challenge of balancing institutional priorities with the need to maintain a safe environment for all students. 

Briefers urged lawmakers, as well as state and local officials, to condemn antisemitic acts––which are becoming increasingly common––emphasizing that antisemitism is not a political issue. Insights gleaned from this roundtable will inform legislative efforts aimed at improving officer training, enhancing data collection, strengthening community trust, and ensuring the rigorous prosecution of antisemitic offenses. 

Read the full article in Fox News here and highlights below.

‘Critical’ closed-door congressional huddle focuses on growing antisemitism in US
Fox News
Diana Stancy
July 29, 2025

EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee met with stakeholders and law enforcement to address the rise of antisemitic violence in the U.S., during a closed-door congressional roundtable on July 22, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The roundtable comes amid growing concerns about antisemitic violence months after recent attacks in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., along with growing fears surrounding the potential election of Zohran Mamdani, who has espoused anti-Israel viewpoints, as New York City mayor. 

“Jewish communities across the country are living in fear, and I am committed to standing with them. This roundtable comes at a critical moment: a far-left activist who has defended the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’ is inching closer to leading a city home to one of the world’s largest Jewish populations,” Rep. August Pfluger, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee’s counterterrorism and intelligence subcommittee, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“Antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric is becoming dangerously mainstream. We must act now to expose and combat this vile hatred wherever it is spread,” Pfluger said. 

The roundtable focused on improving interagency coordination, intelligence sharing, training, and enforcement to better prevent and respond to antisemitic violence, according to a House Homeland Security Committee aide.

In particular, the meeting addressed ways to bolster communication between the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, along with state and local law enforcement, according to Michael Masters, the CEO of the Secure Community Network, a non-profit organization focused on the safety of the Jewish community in North America. 

This interagency coordination is absolutely paramount as the Secure Community Network has flagged 500 credible threats to life this year – which all have required immediate law enforcement intervention, according to Masters. 

“Bad guys don’t respect orders. Bad actors don’t respect jurisdictions, and that means that our intelligence can’t be siloed,” Masters told Fox News Digital on Monday. 

Additionally, the roundtable’s discussion highlighted how extremist rhetoric can spread, especially on college campuses and via social media, the aide said. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, student protests have erupted across college campuses in the U.S., including at Columbia University in New York. 

Likewise, those participating in the roundtable addressed the prevalence of homegrown and foreign-influenced extremism, when one participant highlighted instances where anti-Israel terrorist organizations have disseminated tool kits and talking points aimed at promoting attacks in the U.S., the committee aide said. 

The discussion is expected to inform legislative priorities centered around bolstering officer training, improving data collection, and ensuring “robust prosecution” of antisemitic offenses, the committee aide said. 

Those who participated in the roundtable included representatives from the Secure Community Networks; the Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to stopping the defamation of the Jewish people; the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence & Analysis; and law enforcement officials. 

Pfluger, a Republican from Texas, has spearheaded legislation that would bar any visa holders backing Hamas or other designated terror groups from staying in the U.S. 

He also led a hearing last month on the rise of antisemitic violence in the U.S., following a May shooting that killed two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington and a terrorist attack in Colorado targeting a grassroots group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages.

Antisemitic violence reached a new high in 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

The group recorded 9,354 antisemitic instances of harassment, assault, and vandalism in the U.S. in 2024 – a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023 and a 344% increase in the past five years. Likewise, the number of incidents is the highest the group has recorded since 1979, when the group first started tracking these cases. 

###