U.S. Sen. Bob Casey appeared at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on May 10 to announce $250,000 in federal funding for the museum.
Labeled community project funding and part of a fiscal 2024 federal spending bill, the money will pay for educational programming to “help students better understand the history and present-day impact of antisemitism,” according to Casey’s office.
The Weitzman funding was one of 202 community projects totaling $202.5 million that Casey secured in the two spending bills. But the Pennsylvania senator thought this one was important enough to warrant a press conference at the institution.
Before a roomful of Weitzman supporters and journalists, he explained why.
Antisemitic incidents were rising in the United States before Oct. 7, Casey said. They have increased exponentially (some estimates say by more than 400%) since then, he continued.
“What was a terrible problem a couple of years ago is a much worse problem today,” he concluded. “It is real, it is substantial and we’ve got to do something about it.”
The senator, who is not Jewish, explained what he wanted to do beyond a single community project.
First, Casey wants to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act he sponsored that would create by statute “a workable definition of antisemitism” for the Department of Education to use to investigate incidents on college campuses and in other educational institutions. Second, he wants to double funding for the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education.
“It’s a badly underfunded office that is charged with the responsibility of doing investigations of educational institutions,” he said.
Casey is running for reelection this year. More than 400,000 Jews live in Pennsylvania. Only New York, California, Florida and New Jersey have bigger Jewish populations.
A Hillel International report found that antisemitism increased by 700% on college campuses in the month after Oct. 7. Recent encampments protesting Israel’s war in Gaza at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and other campuses have expressed antisemitic sentiments like “From the river to the sea,” a well-known call for eliminating the state of Israel.
“If it requires hiring 500 more folks to do those investigations, we should do that,” Casey continued.
Phil Darivoff, the Weitzman’s chair emeritus, spoke after Casey.
“Arthur referred to the senator as a great friend,” Darivoff said, referring to opening remarks by Arthur Sandman, the museum’s chief of staff.
“He is our best friend,” Darivoff continued.
Bob Casey: Best friend of the Jews?
It’s a label the senator has embraced since Oct. 7.
He attended the March for Israel in Washington, D.C. He spoke at a rally against antisemitism at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia. He visited the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
In March, the Weitzman announced that Casey had sponsored the Senate version of a bill to explore the possibility of making the museum a Smithsonian institution. Such a designation would enhance the museum’s prestige and access to donors of both money and artifacts, according to museum officials.
“We knew antisemitism was a terrible problem before Oct. 7. It was growing exponentially, and then it just increased substantially since then,” the senator said at the time. “We’ve never had a period like this in our history.”
Casey’s latest effort to help the Weitzman will be more immediate. After Darivoff spoke, Rebecca Krasner, the museum’s director of education, explained how the Weitzman would use the $250,000.
The museum plans on developing curricular materials and professional development opportunities that tell “the true story of who Jews are,” Krasner said. They will explain Jewish peoplehood, the centrality of Israel and the ways how Jewish and American values influence each other.
They will also reveal “the history and current manifestations of antisemitism in America,” Krasner said.
“But all within the rich context of American Jewish peoplehood,” she added.
“For many teachers today, Jewish history is synonymous with the Holocaust,” Krasner concluded. “The Holocaust is critical, and we must also offer teachers a view of the joy, the resilience and the beauty of living Jewish people.”
America has offered Jews more freedom and opportunity than other nations throughout history, according to Darivoff. The museum remains committed to telling that story.
“I’m not sure that much has changed for Jews. Jews enjoy a flourishing existence in America,” Darivoff said. “We’re going to continue to celebrate that.”
