House votes to expand definition of antisemitism amid anti-Israel demonstrations across US
The House voted to expand the legal definition of antisemitism used to enforce anti-discrimination laws at a time when anti-Israel protests are raging at college campuses across the country.
The bill overwhelmingly passed the House by a 320-91 vote, netting a majority of Republicans and Democrats.
If passed by the Senate and signed by President Biden, the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act would mandate that the Department of Education legally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when enforcing anti-discrimination rules.
Critics of the bill have attacked it as government overreach and said it would negatively impact free speech on campus.
Like most issues in Israel's war on Hamas, the vote divided the Democratic Party. An increasing number of voices on the left, anchored by progressives, have been critical of Israel's invasion of Gaza and the U.S. government's position on the war.
The bill had over a dozen Democratic backers, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., who are Jewish, and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., among others.
Seventy Democrats voted against the bill, while 133 voted against it. On the Republican side, just 21 voted against the bill, with 187 GOP lawmakers in support.
The opposition was led in part by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., a Jewish progressive who's the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
"This definition, adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance or IHRA, includes, quote, contemporary examples of antisemitism, close quote. The problem is that these examples may include protected speech in some context, particularly with respect to criticism of the state of Israel," Nadler said during debate on the bill.
"To be clear, I vehemently disagree with the sentiments toward Israel expressing those examples. And, too often, criticism of Israel does in fact take the form virulent antisemitism."
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On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voiced his objections to the bill on the morning of the vote.
"This is a poorly conceived unconstitutional bill and I will vote no," Massie wrote on X, along with screenshots of examples on IHRA's website of what it defines as antisemitism.
It includes "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor" and "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis."
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who led the bill, told Fox News Digital, "When people engage in harassment or bullying of Jewish individuals where they justify the killing of Jews or use blood libel or hold Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the Israeli government – that is antisemitic. It's unfortunate that needs to be clarified, but that's why this bill is necessary."
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He also reiterated criticism of the anti-Israel protests at colleges like Columbia University, Yale University and others, where tensions have escalated to the point of Jewish students reporting feeling unsafe on campus.
Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., one of the Democrats sponsoring the bill, said there's "no place for antisemitism on college campuses."
"We need to take an aggressive and multifaceted approach to keep our Jewish students safe, and that means passing the Antisemitism Awareness Act immediately," Ryan told Fox News Digital.