VOTE! Why Did 70 Democrats And 21 Republicans Reject Anti-Semitism Bill?

DEBARYLIFE – A bill to combat antisemitism on college campuses was passed by the House.
Among the seventy House Democrats who voted against it was the longest-serving Jewish member.

This is due to the bill’s definition of antisemitism, which includes some criticisms of Israel.
A bill to combat antisemitism on college campuses was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Despite the opposition of 21 House Republicans and 70 House Democrats, the bill was passed by a bipartisan vote of 320 to 91.

The lawmakers who voted against the bill aren’t always against attempts to curb antisemitism or in favor of it either. Instead, they objected to the bill’s proposed definition of antisemitism.

Led by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and cosponsored by 61 other lawmakers from both parties, the Antisemitism Awareness Act would mandate that the Department of Education apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definitions of antisemitism when enforcing anti-discrimination laws.

Along with overt examples of antisemitism, the IHRA definition of antisemitism includes certain popular critiques leveled toward the State of Israel, such as:

denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, for example, by asserting that it is racist to establish a State of Israel.

Making analogies between Nazi policy and Israeli policy today.

This has caused more progressive parliamentarians to worry that free speech laws would be broken and that criticism of Israel or anti-Zionism might be mistaken for antisemitism.

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Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Jewish House Democrat with the longest tenure, opposed the bill on Wednesday on the House floor, stating that definitions of antisemitism under the IHRA “may include protected speech in some contexts, particularly with respect to criticism of the State of Israel.”

According to Nadler, “speech that is critical of Israel alone does not constitute unlawful discrimination,” and the Department of Education is already authorized by law to look into claims of discrimination.

The vote was held on Wednesday amid nationwide pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have taken over college campuses.

“Much of this activity, whether you agree with the sentiments expressed at these protests or not, constitutes legally protected speech,” stated Nadler. “Some participants shamefully have exhibited antisemitic conduct, and the Department of Education will rightfully investigate them.”

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Nadler also led ninety-two House Democrats to vote “present” on a resolution proposed by the GOP in December that linked anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Thirteen House Democrats abstained from voting for the resolution.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries requested that House Speaker Mike Johnson take up the Counter Antisemitism Act, a separate bill that would create an Interagency Task Force to Counter Antisemitism in the White House and appoint a National Coordinator in an attempt to prevent this split.

Republicans objected to the bill for several reasons. The Catholic Church has denied that Jews were involved in the death of Jesus Christ since the 1960s, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia stated that she would vote against the bill because it “could convict Christians of antisemitism” for holding this belief.

With 30 sponsors, almost half of whom are Democrats, it is unclear when or when the bill will be considered in the Senate.