In the midst of the wave of more than a thousand arrests due to protests over Gaza on campuses across the country, the United States House of Representatives has approved a bill that will broaden the focus when prosecuting anti-Semitism. Announced last week by Columbia University’s Mike Johnson, if passed in the Senate, the law will force the Department of Education to use a more lax definition of anti-Semitism in its application of anti-discrimination laws.
Although its approval in the House of Representatives has been a process, with 320 votes in favor and 91 against – with the rejection of the progressive sector of the Democrats and the hard wing of the Republicans –, a more difficult path awaits in the Senate Democratic majority. Critics denounce that the law is an attack on freedom of expression, since it will allow the arrest of those who demonstrate against the actions of Israel, the vast majority, and not against the Jews.
Specifically, the new definition of anti-Semitism would be based on the one proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which includes expressions such as “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist enterprise” or “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy with that of the Nazis”.
If it becomes law, the Department of Education could, for example, revoke federal research grants and other funds to universities that do not take action against certain chants that are considered anti-Semitic. One of those repeatedly cited by congressmen is “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which they consider a call for the destruction of Israel, referring to the space between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. For the Palestinians, however, it is a demand for an end to the occupation of their territories.
The Republican who introduced the vote, Mike Lawler, has defended that it is “fundamental that we take strong measures against anti-Semitic hatred within our own country” and has thanked “the bipartisan support for the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act and the support of a wide range of Jewish organizations.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sent a letter to members of Congress asking them to oppose the law, stating that the current law “already prohibits anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment by federally funded entities,” so this bill The law seeks to “curb students’ freedom of expression on university campuses by incorrectly equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism.”
Joe Biden, for his part, has not yet commented on whether he will sign the law if it is approved in the Senate, but he has warned against “anti-Semitism” on campuses, as well as against those who “do not understand what it means.” happens with the Palestinians. And, in his first campaign speech since the criminal trial began in New York, Donald Trump called the protesters “angry lunatics” on Wednesday, suggesting that they are being financed by “liberal groups” to distract from the increase in migrants in the border.
