Moulton Co-Sponsors Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act

Washington, DC — Congressman Seth Moulton joined a bipartisan group of more than 60 colleagues to introduce the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act. The legislation will direct the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public schools nationwide.

There is mounting evidence that knowledge about the Holocaust is beginning to fade. A 2020 survey measuring Holocaust awareness in the U.S. found that roughly two-thirds of those asked did not know how many Jewish people died. The survey of Americans between 18 and 40 also found that 48% could not name one concentration camp or ghetto. According to recent analysis, a majority of U.S. states do not have laws requiring public school students to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust.

The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) most recent Audit of Antisemitic Incidents (2021) captured more than 2,700 incidents throughout the U.S. — a 34% increase from 2020 and the highest number on record since ADL began tracking these events in 1979.

At a press conference on Friday, Congressman Moulton said: 

"Thank you to my colleagues and thank you [Congressman Gottheimer] for putting forward this legislation. I feel fortunate to have grown up in a town in Massachusetts where there are a lot of jewish kids and a lot of Catholic kids, a lot of Protestant kids. It didn’t really seem to matter. Some kids went to Hebrew school, some kids went to CCD, some kids went to Sunday school. The only thing in common is that I don't think any of us like it all that much.

But sadly as proud as I am of that history, I am ashamed that anti-semitism is on the rise back home. We’re going backwards today. Adolf hitler came to power in a democracy he was elected by capitalizing on bigotry. By deepening divisions in his society and by using that to his political advantage. It is hard to imagine the scale of the holocaust today. And yet the foundations for that hate still exist. It still exists in the world and it still exists in America. That’s why education is so important and that is why we still have a lot of work to do."

The study on Holocaust education directed by the HEAL Act will:

• Determine which states and school districts require or do not require Holocaust education in their curriculum;
• Determine which states and school districts offer optional Holocaust education;
• Identify the standards and requirements schools mandate on this Holocaust education;
• Identify the types and quality of instructional materials used to teach;
• Identify the approaches used by schools to assess what students learn; and
• Report the results of the study to Congress.

The bill was formally introduced on Friday, January 27th, which was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Find the legislative text of the bipartisan HEAL Act here. Watch the full press conference here.