We were two of the youngest Jewish-Americans to run for Congress in 2018; our names are Naomi Levin and Bryan Leib. We have many things in common – from our backgrounds to our core beliefs to our love for Israel and why we ran for Congress in the first place against what many said were insurmountable odds.
One of the things that we have in common is the core belief that our elected officials in Congress need to do more to educate our next generation about the Holocaust. Last April, a group of House representatives (four Democrats and four Republicans) introduced a bipartisan bill called the Never Again Education Act (H.R. 5460). The bill was introduced in response to an alarming survey by the Claims Conference, now public, claiming that over two-thirds or 66% of American millennials have never heard of Auschwitz.
Furthermore, over 45% of those surveyed could not name a single one of the 40 ghettos or concentration camps and nine out of 10 people responded "yes" when asked if American students should learn about the Holocaust.
After hearing the results of this study, it became very clear to anyone paying attention that the memory of the Holocaust is quickly fading while anti-Semitism in America and around the world grows. I (Bryan) am the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and I (Naomi) have relatives who survived the Holocaust. We will never forget the Holocaust and we are both personally invested in seeing Holocaust education rolled out nationwide. But what about the millions of Americans who don't have grandparents or relatives who are Holocaust survivors and can't name a single concentration camp?
In response to these shocking statistics, these eight members of Congress introduced a bipartisan bill that would authorize and fund the Department of Education to provide grants for educational programs about the Holocaust. We and many others applauded the eight members who introduced the bill and started working with our friends, community members and directly with members of Congress behind the scenes to whip up support from additional cosponsors of the bill.
To date, the bill has 53 co-sponsors (33 Democrats and 20 Republicans). The theory behind increasing the number of cosponsors is that it was supposed to increase the likelihood that the bill would be passed in committee with a recommendation for a full vote on the House floor.
Here is where things get weird and well, very frustrating. The bill was referred to the House Education Committee on April 10, 2018 (the same day the bill was introduced) and now, over 365 days later, still has not been read once in committee or been voted on. Since the new session of Congress started, no bills related to Holocaust education have been introduced.
We aren't of the belief that the federal government should be telling any of us what to do or how to live our lives. However, in this case, we will make an exception because our future depends on it.
The federal government has a real opportunity to pass a real bill that will have tangible and measurable results. A bill that will have a direct impact on the lives of our children. If we don't start educating the next generation about the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and the 6 million Jews that were systematically erased from existence, we run the very real risk that history will repeat itself.
We, Bryan Leib and Naomi Levin, are calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Education Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott and the bill's original lead sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, to get together in a room as soon as possible, breathe life back into this bill, draft a new one and put it on the House floor where it belongs, for a full vote.
In closing, in the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "The time is always right to do what's right." This bill is right, the cause is just and our members of Congress need to stop placating the American people by telling us they care about the growing tide of anti-Semitism and actually do something to address it. This bill is their opportunity to change the tide and make an impact. Will they? Your move, Congress.
Bryan E. Leib is a program manager for the Israeli-American Council. He is a member of the board of the National Museum of American Jewish History and a member of the Jewish National Fund's Speakers Bureau. He is the former candidate for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District and the former treasurer of the Philadelphia Young Republicans.
Naomi Levin is a software engineer. She is the former candidate for U.S. Congress in New York's 10th Congressional District. She is a board member of EMET (the Endowment for Middle East Truth), Manhattan GOP and the New York State Young Republicans.
