Opinion
At last there’s progress on fighting antisemitism in the US
The Antisemitism Awareness Act has been stalled for years. But now that’s changed
February 11, 2025 10:16
3 min read
The Antisemitism Awareness Act has been stalled for years. But now that’s changed
February 11, 2025 10:16Jew-hatred famously shape-shifts, but Congress’ response is evolving too. Consider the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA)’s journey. AAA passed the Senate by unanimous consent in December 2016. That is, it was considered so anodyne, there was a voice vote. Last year, though, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (who is Jewish), wouldn’t even hold a stand-alone vote, lest it publicly split Democrats. So, after passing the House 320-91 last May, AAA went nowhere.
Last week, Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Max Miller (R-OH), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) reintroduced AAA. The new Congress can now – again – work toward passage. Still, there’s so much misinformation surrounding this bill, it’s worth understanding its content, ramifications, and detractors’ stated concerns.
AAA legislatively codifies President Donald Trump’s 2019 executive order on antisemitism, which remains operative. The bill adopts the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to evaluate complaints the U.S. Department of Education receives alleging anti-Jewish discrimination at schools or universities.
Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), who describes antisemitism as “a sinful abomination,” told me, “You cannot defeat what you will not define.”
The Jewish community concurs that having an agreed-upon definition matters. AAA is endorsed by Jewish organisations across the political spectrum, from the Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee on the left to the Republican Jewish Coalition and Zionist Organisation of America on the right.
Mark Goldfeder, CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, observed, “Because Jewish identity is so multifaceted, without a standard definition for authorities to reference, it is too easy for antisemites to hide behind this ambiguity, commit heinous acts with impunity, then claim it was not antisemitism because it was not based on this or that characteristic.” Goldfeder added, the “Office of Civil Rights [at the Department of Education] has been operating slowly, and there is a need to make sure that those who are trying to re-muddy the waters and create carve-outs for their favourite kinds of antisemitism cannot do so.”
This brings us to the bill’s opponents. Last year, 70 House Democrats and 21 House Republicans opposed AAA. Members of both parties mentioned free speech concerns. Democrats were additionally bothered by IHRA’s characterising anti-Zionism as antisemitism, as were some Republicans by IHRA’s calling “claims of Jews killing Jesus” antisemitic.
“The bill explicitly does not, in any way, restrict or prohibit speech of any kind, including hate speech, and of course religious speech. Every person is free to think, or believe, or say whatever they want, however abhorrent, about Jews and/or the Jewish state. Nor does the bill add any new crimes, classes, punishments, or enhancements,” Goldfeder explained. AAA “simply defines a term within the context of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which regulates behavior — not speech — and ensures that already existing laws will be consistently applied as intended.”
Concerned Democrats might note that Schumer has flipped and is now co-sponsoring AAA. We’ll see if any House progressives follow suit, given Jewish Insider’s reporting “opposition to the legislation on both sides of the aisle seems to have grown since” last May.
As for Republicans’ concerns about Jesus, Pastor Hagee shared, “The Word of God says ‘No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily’ (John 10:18). Accordingly, if you’re a Christian who believes the Bible is true, then we believe that Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life. If you believe that any one group is responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, save and except God Almighty, then you do not believe in the sacrificial and substitutionary death of our Saviour.” Relatedly, CUFI supports “AAA because it’s right, and it is never the wrong time to do the right thing.”
Luke Moon, executive director of the Philos Project and another Christian AAA supporter, commented, “There is a unique hatred of the Jewish people. I believe it is because the Jews were the people through who God brought his moral revelation into this world, and the world hates them for it. I believe Christians should stand with Israel and the Jewish people because we affirm that same moral revelation.”
Hopefully members of Congress will hear similar messages from their constituents. Americans remain overwhelmingly supportive of their Jewish neighbours, and AAA simply makes Trump’s first-term policy on antisemitism in educational settings more durable.