70 Democrats and 21 Republicans vote against bill expanding definition of anti-Semitism on college campuses as anti-Israel protesters cause bloodshed

Despite opposition from 70 Democrats and 21 Republicans, the House passed a bill Wednesday to check anti-Semitism on college campuses.

The vote count was 320-91.

Proponents say it is necessary to address such incidents amid a sea of ​​anti-Israel protests at universities, while opponents say it could “chill” freedom of expression.

The bill would require the Department of Education to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws using the definition of anti-Semitism as defined by the International Alliance for the Remembrance of the Holocaust (IHRA).

Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Jewish Democrat from New York, warned that the bill “threatens to chill constitutionally protected speech.”

“Speech that is merely critical of Israel does not constitute unlawful discrimination,” he continued during a Rules Committee hearing. ‘The bill is too broad.’

Nadler has sponsored a bill that codified several definitions of anti-Semitism in previous terms of Congress. “I made a mistake when I did that,” he said.

The definition that the IHRA lists for anti-Semitism is: ‘a certain perception of Jews, which may manifest itself in hatred towards Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, against Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.’

The Alliance further describes anti-Semitism:

Possible manifestations include attacking the State of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel that is comparable to criticism of any other country cannot be considered anti-Semitic. Antisemitism often accuses Jews of plotting to harm humanity, and is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is manifested in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and uses sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., introduced the legislation along with several other Jewish members: Reps. Max Miller, R-Ohio, Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.

But the bill has brought together a political horseshoe of right-wing and left-wing free speech advocates.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also voted to move the bill out of committee, questioned why it included “international law in a statute.”

“We are certainly conceptually in favor of reducing all the ridiculousness in the world, but legislating is serious business,” he told DailyMail.com. “I just think if you start legislating ‘hate,’ my antennae will go up.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted to move the bill out of the Rules Committee but expressed skepticism about it. “The bill has a problem beyond violating the First (Amendment),” he wrote on X, along with a screenshot of all the examples of anti-Semitism that would fall under the IHRA definition.

“Should people in America be prosecuted for saying these things in all contexts? I do not think so. This is an ill-conceived, unconstitutional bill and I will vote no.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would vote against the bill because it “could convict Christians of anti-Semitism because they believe the gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.”

One of the examples of anti-Semitism cited by the IHRA is “the use of symbols and images associated with classical anti-Semitism (for example, claims that Jews murdered Jesus or blood libels) to characterize Israel or Israelis.”

Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries supported the bill even as he had urged Johnson to accept another bill that would have given the White House broader authority over an anti-Semitism task force.

“We must do everything we can in a serious and sensible way to fight anti-Semitism, to crush anti-Semitism, to bury it in the ground and to ensure that it can never rise again,” he told DailyMail.com.

Columbia University was forced to call the NYPD for the second time in a week about students taking over a building on campus, arresting about 300 students and clearing them.

Meanwhile, accused Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the bill led by Lawler “does real damage to the issue of anti-Semitism, which I feel very strongly about.”

Jayapal claimed that the bill has such a broad definition that many Jewish groups do not support it.

‘So why would you do that? Unless you want to weaponize anti-Semitism, and you want to use it as a political ploy,” she said. “Let’s not forget that many of these Republicans didn’t say a word when Donald Trump and others in Charlottesville were saying really anti-Semitic things in other places.”

Some free speech groups are pushing members to vote against the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called on members to oppose the bill: “Federal law already prohibits anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment by federally funded entities. HR 6090 is therefore not necessary to protect against anti-Semitic discrimination; instead, it would likely curb the freedom of expression of students on college campuses by falsely equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism.”

“Today, Congress will vote on legislation that will stifle free speech on campus and unconstitutionally restrict speech protected by the First Amendment,” FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, wrote on X.

Lawler said it was “Congress’s duty to act” because “these school administrators have allowed rabid anti-Semitism to take hold” and President Joe Biden is “unable to show up in Columbia and speak out against it” to pronounce.’

“You have Democrats like Jerry Nadler saying, I’m against this. Meanwhile, he co-sponsored a bill that literally did exactly the same thing as this bill just a few Congresses ago. So that should tell you how far the Democratic Party has moved when it comes to combating anti-Semitism.”