The House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday amid unrest on college campuses.
The House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday amid unrest on college campuses.
The bill, which was introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, passed 320-91.
The measure was led by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and had 15 Democratic co-sponsors. Many Republicans and Democrats who voted against the bill said it infringes on free speech.
It requires the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. The working definition says antisemitism is in-part “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” The definition includes denying Jewish people their right to self-determination by claiming that the State of Israel is a racist state and drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Several Democrats took issue with the alliance’s definition of antisemitism and some of the contemporary examples on antisemitism listed by the group. Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is Jewish, said he took issue with the bill because it would put the “thumb on the scale” in favor of one definition of antisemitism and could “chill” constitutionally-protected free speech.
