The House on Wednesday approved a bill that seeks to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses, a measure that hit the floor as pro-Palestinian protests roil universities across the country.
The chamber approved the bipartisan legislation — titled the Antisemitism Awareness Act and introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) — in a 320-91 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
The bill would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when enforcing anti-discrimination laws.
The group defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” and “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.”
The organization provides a number of examples for what qualifies as antisemitism, including calling for the harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion, and accusing Jewish individuals as inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust, among other instances.
The vote took place as a wave of pro-Palestinian protests on dozens of college campuses nationwide have escalated in recent days, with some demonstrators’ rhetoric veering into antisemitism. Demonstrators took over a building at Columbia University, prompting a police response.
More than 1,500 people have been arrested on college campuses since April 18, according to CNN.
The protesters have used chants and slogans such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and have demanded their institutions divest from companies with connections to Israel.
Lawmakers have waded into the fray, with some defending the protesters but many condemning them.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) led a group of GOP lawmakers to Columbia last week, where the members slammed the protesters and called on them to go back to class. A group of Jewish House Democrats did the same days earlier.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, met with the protesters at Columbia in the same week, and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — one of three Muslim lawmakers in Congress — spoke with pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of Minnesota.
On Wednesday, hours before the antisemitism vote, a group of House Republicans who sit on the Oversight Committee visited The George Washington University, the site of another pro-Palestinian protest.
The protests have triggered debates over free speech on campuses and what is considered antisemitic speech.
That debate made its way up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday as the House prepared to vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
A handful of progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans opposed the legislation over concerns that it would chill free speech.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called the legislation a “ridiculous hate speech bill.”
“Antisemitism is wrong, but this legislation is written without regard for the Constitution, common sense, or even the common understanding of the meaning of words,” he wrote on X.
The Department of Education has numerous ongoing investigations into antisemitism on college campuses.
In a hearing on Tuesday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona decried the action of protesters at Columbia University and did not rule out pulling federal funds if an investigation found a violation of Title IV.
“I think what’s happening on our campuses is abhorrent,” Cardona said. “Hate has no place on our campuses. And I’m very concerned with the reports of antisemitism. I’ve spoken to Jewish students who have feared going to class as a result of some of the harassment that they’re facing on campuses. It’s unacceptable, and we’re committed as a Department of Education to adhering to Title VI enforcement.”
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