Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1173, I call up the bill (H.R. 6090) to provide for the consideration of a definition of antisemitism set forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. 6090.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6090 is designed to combat the deeply disturbing trend of anti-Semitic harassment in schools, colleges, and universities across the country. We are seeing it unfold right now on our television screens.

Anti-Semitic harassment on these university campuses is, unfortunately, not a completely new phenomenon. As early as 2005, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights warned that campus anti-Semitism had become a serious problem.

In 2013, a Pew Research Center survey of Jewish Americans found that experience with anti-Semitism was more prevalent among young adults in higher education.

In 2014, a Brandeis Center-Trinity College study found that anti- Semitism was particularly pervasive on college campuses, with 54 percent of Jewish students on 55 campuses having reported that they experienced or witnessed anti-Semitism during the 2013-2014 academic year.

In 2021, the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law conducted a survey of Jewish fraternity and sorority students, finding that most have felt unsafe at some point while on campus and in virtual campus settings. These fears are justified. The catalog of anti-Semitic harassment in America's top institutions of higher learning is there for everybody to see. Those incidents have increased sharply following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel perpetrated by Hamas and its allied groups.

In late October 2023, at Cooper Union in New York, visibly Jewish students were forced to shelter inside a library as pro-Palestinian protesters tried to gain entry, banging on doors and windows, with the purpose of terrifying them.

On October 26, 2023, anti-Israel protesters assaulted multiple Jewish students at Tulane University in New Orleans.

On November 3, 2023, a Harvard law student and other anti-Israel protesters physically and verbally attacked a first-year Israeli student at the Harvard Business School while he pleaded with them to stop.

From October 7 until mid-January of 2024, the Department of Education has launched 51 investigations into complaints alleging discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry in K-12 schools and colleges and universities.

From January 16, 2024, until today, the Department has launched over 45 investigations into schools and colleges. These investigations overwhelmingly concern anti-Semitic conduct in these schools.

In fact, on April 23, 2024, the Education Department launched an investigation into Columbia University, and we all know what is happening there right now. Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters have occupied Columbia University's west lawn and erected dozens of tents, disrupting campus life and creating a hostile environment for Columbia's Jewish students. Hundreds of pro-Hamas students were arrested for trespassing after repeated warnings to vacate the area, only to be released and returned to Columbia.

A rabbi at Columbia's Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative has advised Jewish students to leave campus because the university has shown that it cannot keep them safe.

Columbia revoked the campus access of a Jewish professor who has been critical of school administrators because the university said it couldn't ensure his safety.

Speaker Johnson, Chairwoman Foxx, and Republican members of the New York delegation went to Columbia University last week and, while addressing the campus, were greeted by anti-Israel chants of: ``From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.''

What that calls for actually is the eradication of the Jewish people. We all know that expression is abhorrent in our society and, yet, it is going on, it seems now, hourly on our college campuses.

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. The surge in the ancient bigotry of anti-Semitism over the years, especially since October 7, must not continue. It is long past time that Congress act to protect Jewish Americans from the scourge of anti-Semitism on campuses around our country.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act expresses the sense of Congress that discrimination against Jews may violate title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it is based on race, color, or national origin, which can include discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

The bill requires the Department of Education to take into account the 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Act's definition of anti- Semitism as part of its assessment of whether anti-Semitic discrimination has occurred. The IHRA definition provides a consistent framework for the Department of Education schools, colleges, and universities to apply to police anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment.

The IHRA's definition is widely accepted and a vital tool for identifying and addressing discriminatory conduct that is motivated by anti-Semitism. It has been adopted by at least 31 States. This bill is exactly the type of legislation needed to protect Jewish Americans from harassment and attacks for simply being who they are.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this important bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest the gentleman turn on his television and watch what is going on right now.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I first thank Mr. Lawler for his very, very passionate and articulate defense of our Jewish brethren. It was very, very moving, and I thank him for that.

Mr. Speaker, 42 years ago, my first human rights trip as a Congressman was to the Soviet Union to defend Jews against pernicious anti-Semitism. I never thought, however, that the anti-Semitic hate that I saw in Moscow and Leningrad could ever happen here, but it has. It is happening, and it is escalating.

The bigotry, intolerance, prejudice, and unbridled hatred for Jews and the Nation of Israel exploding on American college campuses today is absolutely disgraceful. It is morally impermissible and illegal that Jewish students are the targets of anti-Semitic hate and violence.

In both word and deed, Hamas is a terrorist organization that commits mass murder of Jews and seeks the evisceration of Israel. Don't believe it? Remember the horrific violence of October 7 and the ongoing ordeal of the hostages, or just read the Hamas Charter of 1988, the blueprint for genocide against Jews, a modern-day Nazi-like final solution.

As co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, I thank my good friends and colleagues, Mike Lawler and Josh Gottheimer, for authoring the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

This important legislation will codify the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism into title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark antidiscrimination law. Schools that receive Federal funds must comply with title VI, and this bill will clarify that the Hamas hatred infecting our campuses must be dealt with as anti-Semitic discrimination that violates civil rights.

Special thanks, Mr. Speaker, to the police, who at great risk to their own personal safety are trying to mitigate the threats to Jewish students.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Foxx), the chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee of the House.

Mr. Speaker, you cannot fight anti-Semitism if you cannot define it. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance offers us a clear and widely accepted definition rooted in the tragedy of the ages. After that horrific crime against humanity, the civilized nations of the world took a sacred oath: Never again.

To support that oath, these united nations restored the Jewish state to its historic homelands. That state is now under attack at home and abroad, and with this act, America stands with our Jewish brethren at home and abroad.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on H.R. 6090-- Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023.

In light of recent events across the globe and here in the United States, where anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes have risen, this bipartisan bill is an attempt to codify the definition of ``antisemitism''

Specifically, this bill would require the Department of Education to take the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into account when determining if an action or practice that violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was motivated by antisemitic intent.

The IHRA defines antisemitism as the following:

``Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.''

In its list of examples of anti-Semitic conduct, the IHRA includes ``[d]enying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,'' and ``[d]rawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.''

While there is both support and opposition for this bill it is important to highlight the issues and concerns.

Namely, there is a concern that this bill will undermine free speech by codifying a singular definition of antisemitism.

Notably, however, the bill language provides a provision to explicitly protect against infringement of the First Amendment.

Additionally, while the Department of Education already utilizes this definition of ``antisemitism'' in its enforcement of Title VI civil rights claims, there is a concern that forcing the Department of Education to ``consider'' a particular definition of antisemitism does nothing to protect houses of worship, check antisemitic threats, or otherwise keep students safe on campus.

Rather, improving civil rights enforcement should be the real key to fighting antisemitism.

In May 2023, the Biden Administration created a ``U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,'' a cornerstone of which is increasing enforcement actions by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Since the October 7 attacks on Israel, OCR has seen a dramatic rise in discrimination claims.

President Biden's budget called for a 27 percent increase in funding to OCR, but funding remained level for FY 2024.

Last year, House Republicans pushed to cut funds for federal civil rights enforcement on college campuses by 25 percent.

Ultimately, however, House Republicans refused to increase OCR's funding.

Instead, they have fought adequately funding OCR to meet the surge in antisemitism complaints because, in the political hierarchy governing their culture war priorities, undermining LGBTQ civil rights is more important than protecting Jewish students from discrimination.

I think we can all agree that the recent rise in antisemitism in the U.S. is a real problem, yet sadly House Republicans mostly ignored it.

Thus, it is important to highlight that any support for this bill should also include corresponding support for the agency tasked with investigating claims of harassment and hate.

Supporting such a measure while stripping away the tools to effectively carry out its duties is short-sided.

In particularly, as we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month this May, I must reiterate my condemnation to the rise of antisemitism--and call on my fellow elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society leaders to continue to condemn and combat antisemitism, and to identify and educate others on the contributions of the Jewish American community.

And so, as we celebrate the Jewish American community's contributions this month, we too must honor their resilience in the face of a long and painful history of persecution.

Indeed, as stated by President Biden in his Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2024--we must all ``remember that the power lies within each of us to rise together against hate, to see each other as fellow human beings, and to ensure that the Jewish community is afforded the safety, security, and dignity they deserve as they continue to shine their light in America and around the world.''

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