House votes to expand definition of antisemitism amid anti-Israel demonstrations across US

The House voted to expand the legal definition of antisemitism used to enforce anti-discrimination laws at a time when anti-Israel protests are raging at college campuses across the country.

If passed by the Senate and signed by President Biden, the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act would mandate that the Department of Education legally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when enforcing anti-discrimination rules. 

Critics of the bill have attacked it as government overreach and said it would negatively impact free speech on campus.

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The House of Representatives passed a bill expanding the definition of antisemitism in regard to academic settings. (Getty Images)

Like most issues stemming from Israel’s war on Hamas, the vote divided the Democratic Party. An increasing number of voices on the left, anchored by progressives, have been critical of Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the U.S. government’s position on the war.

The bill had over a dozen Democratic backers, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., who are Jewish, and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., among others.

It passed 320 to 91 on Wednesday.

The opposition was led in part by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., a Jewish progressive who’s the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

“This definition, adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance or IHRA, includes, quote, contemporary examples of antisemitism, close quote. The problem is that these examples may include protected speech in some context, particularly with respect to criticism of the state of Israel,” Nadler said during debate on the bill. 

“To be clear, I vehemently disagree with the sentiments toward Israel expressing those examples. And too often criticism of Israel does in fact take the form virulent antisemitism.”

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Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., is leading Democratic opposition to the bill. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voiced his objections to the bill on the morning of the vote.

“This is a poorly conceived unconstitutional bill and I will vote no,” Massie wrote on X, along with screenshots of examples on IHRA’s website of what it defines as antisemitism.

It includes “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who led the bill, told Fox News Digital, “When people engage in harassment or bullying of Jewish individuals where they justify the killing of Jews or use blood libel or hold Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the Israeli government – that is antisemitic. It’s unfortunate that needs to be clarified, but that’s why this bill is necessary.”

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Student protesters march around their encampment on the Columbia University campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, in New York.  (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

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He also reiterated criticism of the anti-Israel protests at colleges like Columbia University, Yale University and others, where tensions have escalated to the point of Jewish students reporting feeling unsafe on campus.

Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., one of the Democrats sponsoring the bill, said there’s “no place for antisemitism on college campuses.”

“We need to take an aggressive and multifaceted approach to keep our Jewish students safe, and that means passing the Antisemitism Awareness Act immediately,” Ryan told Fox News Digital.