A fairly remarkable piece of legislation passed the US House this week. It was motivated by the recent attacks against Israel and against Jewish students on American college campuses.
The bill directs that the US Department of Education can take into consideration a certain definition of anti-Semitism when evaluating civil rights violations. This definition was developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The text of the bill is found here; and the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is found here.
Why is this an issue? The IHRA definition is extremely expansive; and it offers examples that open multiple cans of worms.
Under the IHRA definition, it would be illegal for Christians to assert truthfully that the Jews called for Christ’s crucifixion; and that the Jews were repeatedly attempting to undermine the early Christians.
It would be illegal to discuss the predominating worldview in the American Jewish community or the net direction of its activism. That is very important, because their worldview and activism are often in sharp conflict with the priorities and interests of biblical Christians.
Indeed, free speech becomes illegal under the Republicans’ legislation. We have seen how speech becomes transmogrified into “hate crimes” in some western countries.
Some might maintain that would never happen here. I beg to differ. Do you remember when they began persecuting Christians after the Obergefell same-sex marriage decision? Do you remember when they shut down the churches four years ago? The establishment has done things to Christians we previously would have thought unthinkable.
We need to remember that this bill is directed toward the Department of Education and its programs. Its immediate impact is therefore limited. However, it sets a precedent that can easily be replicated in many contexts.
Let’s consider that it was the Republicans who passed this fiasco. Part of the animating spirit of this legislation is the premise that anti-Zionism (e.g., opposition to the modern state of Israel) is tantamount to anti-Semitism. That is a standard presumption among Republicans and many conservative pundits. But it is also a misuse of the term anti-Semitism.
These Republicans are catering to their Jewish megadonors whose fealty to the modern state of Israel is a high priority. But by doing so, they are placing at risk their Christian political base. The fact is that Americans– and Christians especially– need to be more aware of the predominating Jewish worldview and the net direction of Jewish activism in the United States.
After all, when you have opponents and adversaries, it is helpful to know who they are. You would then be able to understand what you are facing and hopefully overcome it.
But the GOP is trying to shut down these discussions.
Interestingly, the Dissenter reports that the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has made a statement in support of the bill that the Republicans passed. He is apparently unconcerned about the impact on Christians. He is unconcerned about the ability to teach biblical truth, and also to tell the truth about those who strenuously oppose our biblical worldview and the interests of Christians.
It has become common for congressional Republicans to oppose the interests of their base. In fact, that has been their modus operandi for approximately 25 years. You can’t place your hope in this crowd.
Indeed. When they have been in power (on the basis of promising to cut spending always), have they so much as cut the taxpayer funding of NPR or PBS (the P stands for Propaganda)? Their actions speak volumes.
Healey, I agree. Here is the way I think about it. Don’t listen to what they say; instead, watch what they do. Their actions are the true barometer of who they really are.
It did pass the house overwhelmingly but still needs Senate approval.
Let’s see what the ACLU has to say about the bill:
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union strongly condemns the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 6090, the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which threatens to censor political speech critical of Israel on college campuses under the guise of addressing antisemitism.
“The House’s approval of this misguided and harmful bill is a direct attack on the First Amendment,” said Christopher Anders, director of ACLU’s Democracy and Technology Policy Division. “Addressing rising antisemitism is critically important, but sacrificing American’s free speech rights is not the way to solve that problem. This bill would throw the full weight of the federal government behind an effort to stifle criticism of Israel and risks politicizing the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes precisely when their robust protections are most needed. The Senate must block this bill that undermines First Amendment protections before it’s too late.”
The bill directs the Department of Education to consider an overbroad definition of antisemitism that encompasses protected political speech when investigating allegations of discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The ACLU has warned this could pressure colleges and universities to restrict student and faculty speech critical of the Israeli government and its military operations out of fear of the college losing federal funding.
As a recent ACLU letter to Congress made clear, federal law already prohibits antisemitic discrimination and harassment by federally funded entities, and the Antisemitism Awareness Act is not needed to protect Jewish students from discrimination. Additionally, as the Supreme Court ruled more than 50 years ago in the landmark decision of Healy v. James, “This Court leave[s] no room for the view that, because of the acknowledged need for order, First Amendment protections should apply with less force on college campuses than in the community at large. Quite to the contrary, ‘[t]he vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.’”
Fred, occasionally the ACLU gets it right; and they did in this case.
I am hoping the Senate won’t pass this awful bill that Mike Johnson pushed through. After all, the Democrats might not want to constrain their left-wing protesters.
From Power Line Podcast:
Lucretia hosts this week’s episode, reminding us once again that Republicans are living up to their reputation as “the stupid party” with the proposed “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” that seems to have overlooked this quaint old thing called the First Amendment. Steve gamely tries to defend the political strategy behind it, but Lucretia is having none of it (putting her in rare alignment with the New York Times), wondering why anyone would want to distract attention away from Democrats tieing themselves in electoral hangman’s knots over the anti-Semitism raging wild inside their party and their wholly-owned subsidiary college campuses. Republicans ought to impose a gag order on themselves, and crusade against the gag order on Trump in his current trial in New York. Concerning which, John has several observations.
And about that campus scene: another week, and another data point for Steve’s thesis that “it’s going to get worse before it gets worse.” About the only sensible conclusion is that somewhere in the Great Beyond, Tom Wolfe is behind the whole current scene. Maybe we can still get a sequel from him, Bonfire of the Inanities.
The “stupid party” and “inanities” labels definitely apply, Fred. Thanks…