Just how badly do Senate Democrats — and Presidentish Joe Biden — want to make it official that they’re The Official Party of Violent Antisemitism™? Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his oh-so-slender majority are going to help us find out.
The House on Wednesday passed Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-N.Y.) Antisemitism Awareness Act one day after police cleared out a pro-Hamas occupation at Columbia University.
According to Just The News, the bill “seeks to make the Department of Education adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism when enforcing the 1964 Civil Rights Act on college campuses.” The Alliance’s definition is a little broad for my taste, and certain aspects might not pass Constitutional muster:
The group defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” and says “Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
“Rhetorical” is a problem for free speech advocates and First Amendment absolutists like myself.
Rep. Matt Goetz (R-Fla.) voted Nay, calling it a “ridiculous hate speech bill.” Another House Republican, Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, agreed. “I will not violate my constitutional principles to vote for a bill that tramples on the First Amendment,” she posted on Twitter/X, “and won’t make a positive impact on this issue.”
But I find their concerns overblown. The Antisemitism Awareness Act only requires the DOE to use the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition when enforcing existing laws. In the most important sense, it only levels the playing field for people on our college campuses who clearly need it.
Ideally, we wouldn’t have any such laws on the books. But so long as we do, they shouldn’t create “open season” conditions on some groups while giving carte blanche to others.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) had his own proposal, called the Countering Antisemitism Act. Jeffries’ bill, according to NBC News, would “address concerns about rising antisemitism through the appointment of a new adviser to the president who would be dedicated to implementing its coordinated strategy to counter antisemitism.”
Translation: the Countering Antisemitism Act would kick the can to another Biden White House make-work position, and nothing would happen.
The Antisemitism Awareness Act was passed by a lopsided 320-91 majority. That puts real pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his fellow/sister/xellow/zister Democrats to move the bill through quickly and send it to the White House for Biden’s signature.
Or his veto.
It’s an imperfect bill. But it might accomplish some good if enacted, and it certainly puts the right kind of pressure on Democrats who are currently caught between a rock (their dependence on antisemitic voters) and a hard place (the broad majority who oppose antisemitism).
Look, I know there isn’t much good to say about Speaker Johnson in particular or the barely-there GOP majority in general. But let’s give props where they’re due, and they’re due here.
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