The US House of Representatives votes to expand the definition of the term anti-Semitism
The US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday in favor of expanding the definition approved by Education department for the term anti-Semitism, in a step that still needs to be approved by the Senate and comes in response to the pro-Palestinian protests in the country’s universities.
Part of the US political class accuses the demonstrators at universities of “anti-Semitism,” and they cite this, among other things, as the protesters raise slogans hostile to Israel, the United States’ major ally in the Middle East.
On Tuesday afternoon, the US House of Representatives approved, with the votes of representatives from both parties, a draft bill adopting the definition of anti-Semitism as proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
According to this definition, “anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews that can be manifested by hatred toward them; Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism target Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, community institutions, and places of worship”.
In contrast, critics of the bill say that this definition prohibits certain criticism of Israel, something the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance advocates.
Opponents of the text accuse members of Congress of seeking to quickly approve this legislation in order to use it to limit freedom of expression in US universities.
Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, who opposes the text, warned that comments criticizing Israel don’t in themselves constitute unlawful discrimination.
In order for this text to become effective legislation, the Senate must adopt it, which is still uncertain, before it’s transmitted to President Joe Biden for his signature and publication.
