H.R.5011 - Violent Antisemitism Threat Assessment Act

H.R.5011 was introduced on 19 August, 2025 by Representative Eugene Vindman. It is currently pending before the House Armed Services Committee.

Related legislation:

Bill Summary: H.R. 5011 requires the Secretary of Defense to, “submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report (by March 20, 2026) on the threat posed by violent antisemitism as a component of transnational extremist movements.” The report has three required components:

• An overview of transnational violent extremist ideologies that include antisemitic components, including racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism.

• A review of violence committed on behalf of or motivated by such ideologies, including identification of violent acts committed with explicit antisemitic sentiment and an overview of propaganda facilitating the spread of such ideologies, with an in-depth assessment of the antisemitic components of such propaganda.

• An assessment of the threat that such antisemitic violence poses to the United States homeland, citizens of the United States residing abroad, and personnel of the United States Government, including members of the Armed Forces, and how such threats affect the interests and global standing of the United States.

Context: There is no reason for the Secretary of Defense to police speech – and yet that is what H.R. 5011’s likely outcome would be. The bill identifies two problems, violent antisemitism and transnational extremist movements, yet it defines neither. Without defining either term it allows for a vacuum to be filled by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, the de facto standard across the U.S. government. As such, this Bill appears intended to weaponize the issue of antisemitism to cast the transnational protest movement against Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank as a violent and extremist antisemitic movement, which could in turn lead to domestic legal consequences for every day Americans exercising their 1st Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. This bill creates a direct pathway for political speech which is critical of Zionism or the Government of Israel, to be officially categorized by the Department of Defense as a component of a transnational extremist movement.

As key American allies in NATO and the Indo-Pacific recognize or have discussions about the recognition of a Palestinian state, those states and political leaders are at risk of being identified as antisemitic or part of a transnational extremist movement. Domestically, H.R. 5011 would create a chilling effect on free speech, as universities and businesses would be hesitant to accept or hire someone from the Palestinian diaspora or someone who is public about their beliefs on Palestinian human rights, fearing they would risk having someone in their institution identified as antisemitic or part of a transnational extremist movement.

American Values Analysis: H.R. 5011 is fundamentally against American values as it creates a situation where the executive branch can utilize the IHRA definition of antisemitism to erode the cornerstone of American democracy: the First Amendment right to free speech. By making criticism of the state of Israel antisemetic and a transnational extremist movement it will create a chilling effect on anyone critical of the state of Israel, believes in Palestinian self-determination, or is outraged at the UN recognized famine and internally recognized genocide occuring in Gaza in the U.S. and abroad.

American Interest Analysis: H.R. 5011 is against American interests as it creates an official U.S. government report that designates Palestinian diaspora groups or human rights advocates as part of a transnational extremist movement based on their political views. This bill places the United States on the opposing side of its key strategic partners and their citizens who are seeking to recognize a Palestinian state or are horrified at the actions of that state of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank, and could be used by foreign governments to legitimize their own repressive actions, making the United States an inadvertent enabler of the very persecution it should be opposing

A New Policy’s Recommendation: OPPOSE

A New Policy opposes H.R. 5011 as it imposes an unintended system of transnational repression against those who believe in Palestinian self-determination while implementing a chilling effect on free speech in the United States.

For more information please contact Josh Paul, info@anewpolicy.org, (202) 770-0055