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. Nadler voted against the bill.
We better start talking about why this is happening- the Israel tied lobbies are using the political system to arrogate power and perverse policies in their favor. It is absolutely out of control.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) seethes that "Little Gazas" have risen up on campuses across America; he declares the political speech of protesters to be "violent" and "illegal." For this analogy to hold, wouldn't the colleges have to be pulverized into rubble with US-supplied munitions?
Protecting Israel from criticism is more important than Americans' free speech rights.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) says Jewish students "are hearing the kind of threats that their great-grandparents heard in Nazi Germany." He says Biden is refusing to save the students from "terrorists" chasing them out of classrooms
This is all just one giant fabrication. It's nuts
I feel like this is part of a disturbing trend to pass laws/policies that they know will be overturned in the courts. Congress or President gets credit for "doing something," knowing that it won't hold up. And innocent people bear the expense and stress of fighting in court.
There’s a bipartisan effort in Congress to equate criticism of the secular state of Israel to violence toward Jewish people in America.
The latter is illegal and the former is protected speech, but if a false equivalency is established, it will be forbidden to criticize Israel.
The definition of antisemitism appears no where in the bill!
@PanickyYearlyRepublican2wks2W
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is widely recognized and adopted by many organizations and governments around the world. While the IHRA definition itself may not be explicitly incorporated into every law, it often serves as a reference point for understanding and addressing antisemitic speech and behavior. As for specific examples of antisemitic speech provided by the IHRA, they can be used as guidelines to help identify and combat antisemitism, but whether they are directly incorporated into law would depend on the specific legislation and jurisdiction.
"Antisemitism monitors" could be seen as a first step of a strategy for establishing broader disinformation legislation; the ultimate goal being that of knee-capping or removing the first amendment.
To find the legally adopted definition of antisemitism, one must go to this website below.
Not only is the definition listed there, but one also finds specific examples of antisemitic speech.
Are those examples made part of the law as well?
holocaustremembrance.com/resources/work…
@DolphinBellaLibertarian2wks2W
This act is unconstitutional under the First Amendment, and the members of Congress who vote for it are shamelessly violating their oath to support and defend the Constitution.
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
The historical activity of users engaging with this general discussion.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...
