NEW YORK, April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council praised the Senate Judiciary Committee for unanimously voting out of committee the “Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2018,” thanked Senators Orrin Hatch and Dianne Feinstein for their leadership on the bill, and urged swift action by the full Senate.

“Bipartisan adoption of this bill will send the right message of no tolerance for hate crimes against people of faith,” said Council Co-Chair Farooq Kathwari.

Council Co-Chair Stanley Bergman added, “Concrete steps need to be taken to ensure that hate crimes are investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and this bill is a critical step in this effort.”

The bill expands coverage of federal hate crimes laws to include religious institutions, such as schools and community centers. It clarifies that threats against, as well as acts that result in damage to, religious institutions are covered under federal law.

After passage in the House last December, the bill is advancing in the Senate in the context of a recent rise in religious hate crimes. Anti-Jewish incidents comprise the majority all religious hate crimes, while anti-Muslim incidents rose nearly 20 percent year on year, according to FBI statistics.

The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council brings together 46 civil society, religious, and business leaders from across the United States to advocate for domestic policy issues of common concern to the Jewish and Muslim communities, and the entire country. The Council has eight regional Muslim-Jewish affiliates in the United States. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) are its co-conveners.

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SOURCE The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council