Senate to advance contentious bill to crack down on anti-Israel activity on campus
The Antisemitism Awareness Act would mandate the Department of Education use a controversial definition of antisemitism
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on Dec. 6, 2022. Photo by Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh September 16, 2024
The Senate is expected to move forward to pass a contentious bill aimed at addressing rising antisemitism on colleges and universities, a Democratic congressman told Jewish students on Monday.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey said during a roundtable discussion at Columbia University and Barnard College that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has “assured” him that he plans to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote “before the end of the year.” The legislation mandates the Department of Education use the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which classifies most anti-Zionism as antisemitic, when investigating allegations of discrimination.
The bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act passed the House in May by an overwhelming majority of 320-91 in favor. Some top Democrats — including Rep. Jerry Nadler, the dean of the Congressional Jewish Caucus — objected to the bill, worrying it could suppress constitutionally protected free speech on campuses. Several Jewish advocacy groups and progressives have said the IHRA definition stifles legitimate criticism of Israel.
Instead, Democrats have suggested prioritizing another bipartisan bill — pending a House vote — called the Countering Antisemitism Act, which would implement the Biden administration’s national strategy to counter antisemitism, released last year. That plan did not endorse a single definition, but referenced both IHRA and the Nexus Document, which states that most criticism of Israel and Zionism is not antisemitic, provided that Israel is not treated differently solely because it is a Jewish state. It also has Republican support and the backing of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.
The Senate hasn’t scheduled a vote for the Antisemitism Awareness Act due to ongoing discussions between Republicans and Democrats. Schumer has been reluctant to bring it to a floor vote over fears that it would divide his caucus.
Angelo Roefaro, a Schumer spokesperson, said, “Senator Schumer is working on a bipartisan bill that can pass.”
Gottheimer — joined by his colleague Ritchie Torres of New York and Mike Lawler, a Republican from Hudson Valley — said Scumer’s assurance is a “pretty important update” and something supporters of the bill want to see happening soon so it gets to the president’s desk and becomes law.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing on Tuesday to address hate crimes and antisemitism. It is the first such hearing by the Senate since the Oct. 7 attacks. House Republicans have in the recent 11 months expanded congressional oversight of universities that they allege are rife with antisemitism.
Some Jewish groups and Republicans criticized Senate Democrats for broadening the focus of the hate crimes hearing. “Now that the Judiciary Committee is having this hearing, the majority seems determined to reinforce the message to American Jews that antisemitism is, in their view, a second-class civil rights issue,” leaders of the Orthodox Union, the nation’s largest Orthodox umbrella organization, wrote in a letter to committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin. “Chairman Durbin hasn’t called any of the many victims of the wave of hate on university campuses or city streets to testify, nor has he called a leader of a mainstream American Jewish organization.”
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