The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill intended to crack down on anti-Semitism on college campuses.
The bill passed by a bipartisan vote of 320-91, with 70 House Democrats and 21 House Republicans voting against it.
Lawmakers who voted against the bill are not necessarily in favor of anti-Semitism, nor opposed to efforts to curb it. Rather, they had problems with the definition of anti-Semitism that the bill would impose.
The Antisemitism Awareness Act, led by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and co-sponsored by 61 other lawmakers from both parties, would require the Department of Education to use definitions of antisemitism proposed by the International Memory Alliance of the Holocaust (IHRA) when applying anti-Semitic laws. discrimination laws.
This IHRA definition of anti-Semitism – alongside clear cases of anti-Semitism – encompasses some commonly leveled criticisms of the State of Israel, including:
Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, for example by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.
Make comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy and that of the Nazis.
This has led more progressive lawmakers to worry that free speech norms could be violated and that anti-Zionism or opposition to Israel could be confused with anti-Semitism.
On Wednesday, Rep. Jerry Nadler — the House’s longest-serving Jewish Democrat — spoke out against the bill on the House floor, arguing that the IHRA’s definitions of anti-Semitism “may include protected speech in certain contexts , particularly with regard to criticism of the State.” of Israel.”
“Speech critical of Israel alone does not constitute unlawful discrimination,” Nadler said, arguing that the Education Department already has the ability to investigate discrimination under current law .
The vote took place on Wednesday as university campuses across the country were swept by pro-Palestinian protests.
“Much of this activity, whether or not you agree with the sentiments expressed at these protests, constitutes legally protected speech,” Nadler said. “Some participants shamefully demonstrated anti-Semitic behavior, and the Department of Education will rightly investigate them.”
In December, Nadler also led 92 House Democrats to vote “present” on a Republican-sponsored resolution that equated anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Thirteen House Democrats voted outright against the resolution.
To avoid this split, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass a separate bill – the Anti-Semitism Act – that would include the creation of a national coordinator to oversee an interagency task force to combat anti-Semitism at the White House. .
Republicans had their own problems with the bill. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would vote against the bill because it “could convict Christians of anti-Semitism” because they believe Jews played a role in the murder of Jesus Christ – a notion which the Catholic Church has refuted since the 1960s.
Anti-Semitism is wrong, but I will not vote today for the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2023 (HR 6090) which could convict Christians of anti-Semitism for believing the gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.
Read the text of the invoice and… pic.twitter.com/Y0eeOiVfnw
– Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) May 1, 2024
It’s unclear when — or if — the bill will be considered in the Senate, where it has 30 cosponsors, about half of whom are Democrats.
This story will be updated with a list of lawmakers who voted against the bill when it becomes available.
businessinsider
