(JNS) Co-chairs of the House and Senate Bipartisan Task Forces for Combating Antisemitism met on May 10 in the U.S. Capitol with Susan Rice, White House domestic policy adviser; Liz Sherwood-Randall, homeland security adviser; and Douglas Emhoff, the Jewish husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. Rice, Sherwood-Randall and Emhoff are part of an interagency group working to “counter antisemitism, Islamophobia and related forms of discrimination and bias,” which U.S. President Joe Biden has directed to form a national strategy to respond to antisemitism.

Emhoff said at the meeting that there is an “urgent need” for a strategy as antisemitism is on the rise stateside. Rice and Sherwood-Randall “described the ongoing process of developing the strategy, informed by robust consultation with a diverse array of stakeholders, and future plans to implement the strategy,” according to a meeting readout.

“Members of Congress provided feedback and insights for the strategy based on their own efforts to counter antisemitism,” added the White House.