Loading ...Controversial Anti-Semitism Bill Won't Pass Congress this Year
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act will not make it through Congress this year.
Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) first introduced the bill in the Senate on December 1. It was fast-tracked and passed the Senate in only two days, then quickly introduced in the House of Representatives.
Although there is an alarming uptick in hate crimes towards Muslim, Arab, Sikh, Latinx, LGBTQ, and Black Americans since the 2016 election, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act is what the Senators chose to focus on in their last days in session.
Congress was scheduled to end its 2016 session on December 16, causing the bill to die in the House Judiciary Committee. However, a 2017 version of the bill is scheduled for the next House and Senate sessions.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) acknowledged that the bill would not pass Congress this year, but helped draft the language regardless.
The controversial bill would have instructed the U.S. Department of Education to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism that includes “judging Israel by a double standard” and blaming Israel for political or religious conflicts.
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act would enable the U.S. government to investigate political criticism of Israel as “anti-Semitic”. Its initial introduction earlier this month prompted sharp disapproval from civil rights groups that have called it a waste of taxpayer dollars and an infringement on free speech.
Arab and Jewish Americans have criticized the bill together, particularly because it is aimed at intimidating students.