President Biden is under growing pressure to take action amid the rise in violent attacks targeting the U.S. Jewish community.

Biden has condemned the surge in disturbing incidents, but Democratic lawmakers and outside groups are pushing for more, calling for the president to take more steps to stop antisemitism.

One trio of Democrats in a letter to Biden asked that he nominate a United States ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat antisemitism.

“We need a united, bipartisan, national-level commitment to confront and address the threat of antisemitism head-on. Antisemitism is wrong, and it deserves to be unequivocally condemned by all,” Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.) and Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) wrote to Biden on Tuesday.

Five prominent Jewish advocacy groups — the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee, the Orthodox Union, the Jewish Federations of North America, and Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. — in a Friday letter to Biden expressed concern about a surge in attacks.

The ADL says antisemitic incidents in the United States have increased 63 percent said since new hostilities broke out 11 days ago between Israel and Hamas. The two sides reached a cease-fire on Friday.

There have been clear incidents of antisemitism related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, though much of the focus in Washington has also been on antisemitic remarks by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that were condemned by leaders in both parties.

Greene compared vaccinated employees wearing a “vaccination logo” to Nazis forcing Jews to wear a yellow star during the Holocaust, which led to the genocide of 6 million.

Past remarks by liberal Democrats comparing Israel to an apartheid state have also come under new scrutiny from lawmakers who say they can contribute to antisemitic violence.

In response to the pressure, Biden and the White House have taken a number of steps to reassure the Jewish community.

The Orthodox Union Advocacy Center met virtually with White House senior staff and personnel office staff on Monday, and the meeting was also attended by staff from the National Security Council and Department of Homeland Security.

Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union, said the White House meeting was “very positive.”

“We discussed the issues raised in the letter. The White House staff weren’t so specific as to say, ‘Yes, we’re going to do this.’ But they were very receptive about what we were raising. They said that from the president on down, they’re very concerned about the situation, intend to act comprehensively on it, along the lines of the suggestions we raised. For a bad situation, it was very positive,” he said.

The White House said Biden has been in constant contact with the Jewish community to offer his support.

“The President recognizes that this is a persistent evil that always deserves our attention and efforts, and as he tweeted this week, these attacks must stop, and we must work collectively to give hate no safe harbor,” a White House official told The Hill.

Jewish organizations plan to keep pushing for more from the president. 

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is calling for a twofold approach to the uptick in violence. It wants the White House to appoint a Jewish liaison to the community and fill the position of ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat antisemitism.

Biden should also “strongly condemn antisemitism when we see a rise in hate toward the Jewish people. It’s important that’s not always advocacy from Jewish groups that leads to condemnation,” said Melanie Gorelick, JCPA senior vice president.

The JCPA has been invited to an off-the-record meeting with the White House.

“The White House has reached out to the Jewish community, and so there is outreach right now, which is very much appreciated,” Gorelick said.

Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law last week. That legislation was focused on attacks against Asian Americans that have occurred since the coronavirus pandemic, but it also includes a provision named in part for Heather Heyer, who was killed counterprotesting at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 that included self-identified neo-Nazis and Nazi symbols. 

Gorelick said the JCPA has been pressing for the provision for years, while Diament said he wanted to see how the new law could be implemented to combat anti-Jewish hate.

A White House official said the administration is working to bolster the safety and security of synagogues. As part of that effort, the Department of Homeland Security will brief heads of security in the Jewish community.

Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish second spouse in the U.S., spoke at a ADL event earlier this month about the administration’s work fighting anti-Semitism. 

“He recognizes this is a persistent evil that always deserves our attention and efforts,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday of Biden. 

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Eight people were killed Wednesday morning during a shooting at a rail yard in San Jose, Calif., according to police, who say the shooter is also dead.

Deputy Russell Davis of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office announced the number of victims during a press conference, saying the investigation is “ongoing” and cautioning that “the numbers can change.”

He said employees at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the facility where the shooting took place, are among the victims.

The suspected shooter, who died in the incident, was identified as a male employee of the VTA.

Davis said authorities will “go with the assumption” that the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He added that deputies on the scene did not exchange gunfire.

Davis also revealed that authorities received information that there are explosive devices in the building. He said a bomb squad has been activated and is currently on the scene “trying to clear out every room and every crevice of that building.”

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo (D) told a local television station that there was a fire at the shooter’s home, but nobody was inside.

“That is certainly the information that I have, is that there was a fire at the shooter’s home, there was nobody found inside the home, thank God,” Liccardo told local affiliate KGO, according to CNN.

“It would appear as if the fire was set as the shooter was on his way to the work site,” Liccardo added.

When asked about an area fire at a press conference, Davis said authorities are still gathering information and trying to determine if the situations are connected.

Davis said earlier Wednesday that investigators were on the scene at the rail yard “trying to figure out exactly what happened.”

The VTA control center is a hub that stores a number of trains along with a maintenance yard, and has an indoor and outdoor area, the deputy said.

Glenn Hendricks, the chairperson of the VTA Board of Directors, noted at an earlier press conference that the shooting occurred on the VTA light rail yard, and not in the facilities operations control center.

Multiple reports of shots fired came in at around 6:34 a.m. local time, according to the deputy.

The San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office tweeted just after 7 a.m. local time that officers were on the scene of an active shooting. Authorities requested people stay away from the area, near Younger Avenue and San Pedro Street.

About an hour later, Liccardo said on Twitter that the shooter was “no longer a threat,” adding that several people were being treated for injuries.

His comments came around the same time the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office tweeted “Shooter is down. 2021

Davis said authorities initiated an active shooter protocol and dispatched a rescue task force to help extricate victims from the building.

He would not reveal, when asked by reporters, what type of weapon was used in the incident.

The deputy also announced that a reunification center has been established in the area for individuals who are looking for family members or trying to get in touch with others.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted his office is “in close contact with local law enforcement and monitoring this situation closely.”

Hendricks called the shooting a “horrible tragedy.”

“Our thoughts and love goes out to the VTA family, the organization and what they’ve had to go through. I could not be more proud of the VTA organization. As I drove here, I saw VTA buses out on the road,” he added.

Hendricks, when asked by reporters, said he did not know the number of people who are regularly working at the facility around 6:30 a.m., but said “it’s early in the morning when light rail service is starting.”

He also declined to reveal information regarding security on the premises.

Liccardo said Wednesday was “a horrific day” for San Jose and a “tragic day” for the VTA family, during a press conference alongside Hendricks.

“Our heart pains for the families and the co-workers because we know that so many are feeling deeply this loss of their loved ones and their friends. Now is a moment for us to collect ourselves, to understand what happened, to mourn and to help those who have suffered to heal. That will be my attention today and for the foreseeable future,” Liccardo said.

“My attention will then be immediately turned to ensuring we do everything possible to ensure this never happens again in our city,” he added.

His ex-wife, Cecilia Nelms, told the Associated Press news agency that Cassidy would tell her that he wanted to kill his colleagues, but she had never believed he would do it.

President Biden on Wednesday called the shooting a “horrific tragedy,” adding that he has the “solemn duty” of again lowering the flag to half-staff, after doing so following the mass shootings in Atlanta, Colorado, South Carolina and Indiana.

“Enough,” Biden wrote.

He called on Congress to “take immediate action and heed the call of the American people” to “help end this epidemic of gun violence in America.”

“Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more,” he added.

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