DOJ announces 15-city antisemitism tour

The U.S. Justice Department said on May 19 that its Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism will begin a 15-city National Awareness & Action Tour later in 2026, widening a federal initiative that the department said is aimed at confronting antisemitism nationwide. The same day, the department said it was creating an Anti-Semitism Advisory Committee, known as ASAC, to provide recommendations to the attorney general and the department on strategies to address antisemitism. (justice.gov) The two announcements add a national outreach component and a formal advisory body to a task force the department said it created on Feb. 3, 2025, under President Donald Trump’s executive order on additional measures to combat antisemitism. (justice.gov) The department said that task force’s first priority was to address antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses, and that it is coordinated through the Civil Rights Division. ### What exactly did the department announce on May 19? The Justice Department said the 15-city effort will be called the National Awareness & Action Tour and will be carried out by its Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism later this year. (justice.gov) The department did not list the cities or dates in the announcement and said those details would be released later. The department said separately that ASAC will be a new advisory body that will give recommendations to the attorney general and the department on strategies to address what it called a rising tide of antisemitism across the United States. (justice.gov) The May 19 release described the committee as part of the department’s continued efforts to combat antisemitism nationwide. ### How does this fit into the task force the department already had? The Justice Department said the task force was formed on Feb. 3, 2025, as a multi-agency body pursuant to Trump’s executive order on additional measures to combat antisemitism. (justice.gov) The department said the task force includes representatives from the Justice Department, the Education Department, the Health and Human Services Department and other agencies as it develops. The task force has previously announced visits tied to antisemitism incidents in cities and on campuses. Justice Department releases show the group announced visits to 10 university campuses that had experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023, and separately said it would engage leadership in four big cities affected by such incidents. (justice.gov) ### What did the department say the new tour is supposed to do? The May 19 release said the 15-city tour is part of a nationwide initiative to combat antisemitism. The department framed the effort as an expansion of federal action already underway through the task force. (justice.gov) The advisory committee announcement gave a more specific description of function. The department said ASAC will provide recommendations to the attorney general and the department on strategies to address antisemitism nationwide, but it did not identify members in the release. (justice.gov) ### Who is running the effort inside the department? The Civil Rights Division is the coordinating home for the task force, according to the department’s Feb. 3, 2025 announcement. The Office of the Attorney General and the department’s public affairs office also posted the May 19 announcements on official Justice Department pages. (justice.gov) The department has not yet published, in the May 19 releases reviewed, a schedule for the tour or a roster for ASAC. The Justice Department said those next public details for the tour — dates and locations — will come later in 2026. (justice.gov) ### What comes next, and where will the details appear? The Justice Department said later in 2026 it will announce the dates and locations for the 15-city National Awareness & Action Tour. The department’s May 19 press releases did not provide a launch date for ASAC or identify its members, indicating those details remain pending. (justice.gov 1) (justice.gov 2)