GOP Senator tries to protect the right to be antisemitic in bill to prevent antisemitism

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee discussed a bill on antisemitism on Wednesday. Committee Chair Bill Cassidy of Louisiana proposed a last-minute amendment protecting the right to state that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. The bill, named the Antisemitism Awareness Act, aims to establish the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism as the standard for the Department of Education when investigating claims of antisemitic discrimination.

Critics, including Rep. Jamie Raskin from Maryland, argue that the bill is being used by Trump to target academic freedom by distorting the reality of antisemitism. They caution that adopting the IHRA definition as the sole legal standard could lead to the suppression of free speech and the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism.

Some lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, opposed the bill due to an IHRA example that deems it antisemitic to accuse Jews of killing Jesus, seen as a violation of religious liberty. Cassidy introduced an amendment emphasizing religious freedom within the legislation to address these concerns and secure Republican support.

Although the committee meeting on Wednesday did not yield a vote on the bill, Cassidy’s amendment remains in the text. Critics argue that the legislation, if passed, would target criticism of Israel and the political left, aligning with the Trump administration’s approach to combatting antisemitism. This focus has raised concerns about the bill’s impact on free speech and its implications for safeguarding Jewish safety across the political spectrum.