Controversy in Congress over a bill expanding the definition of "anti-Semitism"

The US Congress voted by a large majority to expand the Department of Education's definition of "anti-Semitism." The draft law faced widespread criticism, which considered it aimed at restricting protests in American universities against the Israeli war on Gaza.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives (Congress) approved by an overwhelming majority a bill that would expand the definition approved by the Department of Education for the term “anti-Semitism.”

As the latest response from lawmakers to student protests at American universities against the Israeli war on Gaza, Congress approved the draft law by a majority of 320 votes to 91 votes.

American politicians accuse the demonstrators at universities of “anti-Semitism” by raising anti-Israel slogans during the protests. American lawmakers have intensified pressure on university administrators to suppress these protests.

What is the new law?

The bill states that when the Department of Education enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, it will use a definition of anti-Semitism put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (an intergovernmental group that includes the United States and European Union countries) in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to this definition, anti-Semitism is “a certain perception of Jews that may 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.”

This definition, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, includes “targeting the State of Israel, which is viewed as a Jewish group.”

The definition also prohibits any comparison between “contemporary Israeli policy” and “Nazi policy.”

Criticisms of the law

Opponents of the text warn that adding the definition of “Holocaust” to the law will allow it to be used to stifle student protests against the Israeli war on Gaza.

Human rights organizations considered that the definition confuses criticism of Israel with "anti-Semitism."

In a letter sent to lawmakers on Friday, the ACLU urged members to vote against the legislation, saying federal law “already prohibits anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment from federally funded entities, and therefore there is no need for a law...to protect against anti-Semitic discrimination.”

The union suggested that the law would "disincentivize students' freedom of expression on university campuses, by incorrectly equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism."

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler also said during Tuesday's hearing that the scope of the definition is too broad.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, in turn, criticized the draft law in a post on the X platform, noting that it only refers to the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, without providing the exact language or clearly indicating the parts that will be included in the law.

It is noteworthy that the expanded definition of anti-Semitism was adopted for the first time in 2016 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and it was adopted by the US State Department under the past three presidential administrations, including the Joe Biden administration.

Previous efforts by the Democratic and Republican parties to draft this law have failed. But the wave of protests against the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which left tens of thousands martyred and injured, revived controversy over this law in the United States.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Tuesday that he would assign several House committees to conduct an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism on campus.