Some Democrats on the Left expressed their discontent with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for his support for the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
Schumer voiced his support in trying to pass a bill aimed at curbing antisemitism on college campuses, which would be Congress’s strongest response to the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country, according to an Axios report. A progressive Democratic group, however, is arguing that the definition of antisemitism in the legislation is too broad.
“Criticizing the Israeli government is not discrimination,” a social media post from Justice Democrats, a PAC that supports progressive Democrats, said.
“What sort of democracy punishes students for criticizing foreign governments?” their statement continued.
Criticizing the Israeli government is not discrimination.
This is a GOP-led assault on free speech that seeks to criminalize student protesters for standing up against the genocide of Palestinians.
What sort of democracy punishes students for criticizing foreign governments? https://t.co/trtuITTPdh
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) October 30, 2024
This bill would force the federal government to adopt a broad definition of antisemitism to enforce anti-discrimination laws. Schumer has privately said he plans to attach the Antisemitism Awareness Act to a must-pass defense bill after the November election, multiple sources told the outlet.
Sources familiar with the bill’s discussions reportedly voiced skepticism that Schumer will get the bill through the Senate this year.
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There is debate about which definition of antisemitism is the correct one. A broader definition, such as the one of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, includes anti-Zionist sentiment as being antisemitic hate speech, while the other more narrow definition does not consider the critique of the state of Israel to be antisemitic.
The State Department currently prefers the first definition, while left-wing Jews often support the second definition, or the Jerusalem Declaration, which is more tolerant of criticism of Israel.