(Daily360.com) Amid a flurry of protests at college campuses, the House of Representatives passed a bill intended to cut down on antisemitic bigotry. The bill passed overwhelmingly with 320 voting in favor and only 91 voting against the measure. Representative Mike Lawler is the author of the legislation and he has called on Chuck Schumer to bring a vote in the Senate to pass the bill as soon as possible.
If the bill gets signed into the law, the Department of Education will be required to use a definition of antisemitism that was written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. On the IHRA’s website, they list some different actions that would be classified as antisemitic, including denying the holocaust and comparing the country of Israel’s policies to the Nazis.
Those who oppose the bill say it is a violation of free speech and that antisemitic harassment is already prohibited under federal law. The ACLU, Democratic Rep Jerry Nadler and Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene all spoke out against the bill. Nadler condemned all forms of bigotry no matter where they happen, but said passing a new law is not the correct answer to the problem.
In a post on X, Rep Green said the bill would criminalize the Christian belief that Jesus was crucified by Jews. This statement by Rep Greene has been referred to as an “antisemitic trope” and is also listed by the IHRA as an example of antisemitism. The statement does not appear to extend hatred to all Jews for the actions of the Jews that crucified Jesus in the bible. Commenters on Greene’s post made the connection to freedom of religion, a right defined within the first amendment of the constitution.
Opponents of the legislation state that the bill will criminalize opinions that are critical of the country of Israel and equate those opinions with antisemitism. They argue that, if the bill passes, this will violate the freedom of speech rights of Americans while not doing anything to protect Jewish students on college campuses.
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