Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly moving to add the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sparking a debate over free speech concerns.
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act is intended to provide additional protections for Jewish students as violence against the community becomes increasingly common, but critics of the bill say it fails to achieve its purpose. Rather, he argues that there is a possibility that it could become “police speech.” Adding the bill to the must-pass NDAA, the annual bill that sets national defense policy, would allow the bill to bypass a vote in Congress, and if approved, would almost guarantee passage. According to Become a Jewish Insider.
“While this bill is well-intentioned to protect students from anti-Semitic misconduct on campus, it prohibits much of the constitutionally protected speech related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. and violates long-standing First Amendment precedent,” said General Counsel Tyler Coward. A government affairs representative for the Individual Rights Expression Foundation told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It does not protect Jewish students because the law cannot survive once it is under judicial oversight…It is likely to be struck down by the courts.”
The bill has come under scrutiny because it defines statements such as “denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination” and “comparing modern Israeli policies to those of the Nazis” as anti-Semitic.
Coward pointed out that a recent executive order signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott uses a similar definition of anti-Semitism and is currently being faced. legal challenge.
Adding the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act to the national defense bill that must be passed does not make it any less unconstitutional.
In fact, the very definition of anti-Semitism used in this law was recently found to constitute viewpoint discrimination by a federal court.https://t.co/cBzcbwlvP4 https://t.co/QkoU66dn2P
— Nico Perrino (@NicoPerrino) November 15, 2024
Other free speech experts disagree that the bill would do more harm than good and argue it is necessary to protect Jewish students.
“We’re very sensitive to anything that might chill speech, whether it’s civil rights law or anything else, but that’s not the case here,” said Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, DCNF. told. “What this law does is strengthen and clarify what it looks like to engage in behavior that is anti-Semitic and therefore violates civil rights laws. But it does not affect speech. .”
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was recently nominated for the attorney general position by President-elect Donald Trump, also voiced his opposition to the bill in a now-deleted tweet, calling it a “ridiculous hate speech bill.” I called.
Matt Gaetz, who as attorney general will oversee many efforts to combat anti-Semitism in the country, recently tweeted a May 1 tweet calling the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act a “ridiculous hate speech bill.” Deleted. An archived version of the tweet is below.https://t.co/i11yFB8if1 pic.twitter.com/UdfwGXh0oT
— Melissa Weiss (@melissaeweiss) November 15, 2024
Schumer has reportedly faced pressure from pro-Israel groups to pass the bill, and had previously promised to make it a priority after the election. According to To Axios.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) told DCNF that it “strongly supports” the bill and considers it “an essential tool in the fight against anti-Semitism.”
“The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IRHA)] “The definition of anti-Semitism, the pre-eminent definition of anti-Semitism, is working in addressing campus harassment, consistent with policies that have been in place since at least 2019,” the ADL said in a statement. “These bills will give us the tools we need to protect our Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and the Jewish community more broadly, during this moment of crisis.”
Violent anti-Israel protests have erupted on campuses across the U.S., especially after a Congressional report found that many university leaders are intentionally refraining from defending Jewish students, calling out anti-Semitism to lawmakers. There are growing calls for further action to be taken. (Related: University leaders secretly promised a ‘remarkable victory’ for anti-Israel demonstrators who stormed campus)
Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Schumer did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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