The United States House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand the federal definition of anti-Semitism, despite opposition from civil liberties groups.
The bill passed the House on Wednesday by a margin of 320 to 91, and it is largely seen as a reaction to the ongoing antiwar protests unfolding on US university campuses. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
If the bill were to become law, it would codify a definition of anti-Semitism created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities”.
According to the IHRA, that definition also encompasses the “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity”.
The group also includes certain examples in its definition to illustrate anti-Semitism. Saying, for instance, that “the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” would be deemed anti-Semitic under its terms. The definition also bars any comparison between “contemporary Israeli policy” and “that of the Nazis”.
Rights groups, however, have raised concerns the definition nevertheless conflates criticism of the state of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism.
In a letter sent to lawmakers on Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urged House members to vote against the legislation, saying federal law already prohibits anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment.
“Instead, it would likely chill free speech of students on college campuses by incorrectly equating criticism of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism.”
So it’s ok to call students that are protesting against a genocide Nazis but not the people actually committing the genocide. Got it.
It’s OK to call anyone not aligned with the Republican Party a Nazi, because it’s important that words have no real meaning. Once words have no meaning, the ideas behind them fade as well. This is double plus ungood.
The ideas don’t fade, just get expressed via weapons since words lost meaning.
Like triplespeak.
That’s what modern Nazis do - try very hard to defame their opponents as Nazis. Sometimes even their victims. Then any argument from that side is disadvantaged.
Why the fuck I’m even writing this here, it’s obvious, only unless I find a way to kill some bad people doing this, I won’t help things.
If the Israelis don’t want to be compared to Nazis maybe they ought to stop acting like Nazis
It would also help if more than a handful of people in the House knew semitic is a pretty archaic term and would include Palestinians in Gaza as well as Israelis and people from several other countries as well.
Protected classes are race, religion, national origin, age, pregnancy status, gender, citizenship, disability or veteran, family status or genetic information. Nobody gets protections for genocide.
Edit: genetic not generic
I mean, what do you call a person that performs ethnic genocide?
American?
😂😂😂😂😂
Hey!
Aw who am I kidding, I know my country’s bloodstained history despite my public education. I wish I could say it was in our past and that we’re better now, but we’re literally funding this exact genocide. 🫠
Hey there, one of the good ones 👋🏽
I know my country’s bloodstained history despite my public education.
I fucking can’t stand that this is a thing. I experienced the same thing and honestly it was “earth shattering.”
When you’re a kid and you’re brainwashed into believing “America the Great” and how we’re always the Good Guys™ always Fighting for Democracy™ only to graduate and then learn on your own how absolutely fucking disgusting we are as a nation it absolutely fucks with your head and how you trust information.
These fucking morons can’t figure out where so many conspiracy theorists come from? It’s from people like me who find out their entire social studies class was a fucking lie to indoctrinate you and then fall down a rabbit hole when they start learning about actual history… Thankfully I was “smart” enough to dig my way out of that hole before becoming some crazed Neonazi but still… Damage was done.
He’s out of line,
But he’s right
Adding IHRA’s definition to the law would allow the federal Department of Education to restrict funding and other resources to campuses perceived as tolerating anti-Semitism.
The campus crackdown is definitely going too far. Vietnam War protestors were treated the same way. It escalated, and the cops opened fire at Kent State.
The state guard fired on students at Kent State not the cops.
The difference today is kids got guns and will fire back.
What the fuck?
Fuck zionists and their disproportionate amount of control over the world.
Good thing their silly religious stories will never come true.
Imagine being disappointed for eternity.
Zionism is a racist colonial ideology, merely using religion as a tool. Theodor Herzl, founder of zionism, said so himself
“We should there form a portion of a rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism. We should as a neutral State remain in contact with all Europe, which would have to guarantee our existence.” Source [II]
It used religion simply as a component of typical XIX-century romantic nationalism. It was a secular ideology until the last 10-20 years.
The genocidal world order. The civilized nations see them for the monsters that they are.
By civilized nations you mean whom exactly? European governments are complicit in more than one genocide happening right now, same with USA, China is fine with its own, India is a mess, but TBH without an active massacre happening right now, I think.
Latin America with all those drug cartels and sexual exploitation? I mean, Latin American states indeed are generally civilized on issues of the genocide and self-determination kinds. Most of those issues exist in the old world, though, so - easier for them.
Always the same map
A bit surprising that “israel” didn’t vote against it, but that would be a bit too on the nose I guess.
Whiteness index map
Always the same map
Looks like a goddamn Risk map.
It seems like the US voted against it because Russia was using it as a political ploy and excuse to try and invade Ukraine. (Ukraine is “full of Nazis” sound familiar?)
That’s why Ukraine voted against it too.
The United States says it was one of three countries to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism over freedom of speech issues and concerns that Russia was using it to carry out political attacks against its neighbors.
Ukraine and Palau were the other no votes.
“We condemn without reservation all forms of religious and ethnic intolerance or hatred at home and around the world,” said Deputy U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council Stefanie Amadeo, explaining the U.S. vote.
“This resolution’s recommendations to limit freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to peaceful assembly contravene the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must be opposed,” Amadeo said.
The UN resolution wanted to quash “antisemitic” protests very much like the ones we’re seeing in the US right now. So really if you’re against the Bill this post is about, you should be okay with the US voting no on that UN resolution.
But Nazism is completely legal in the US?
Looking very much so.
Thereby rendering the definition of antisemitism meaningless.
Having it in the laws as something separate from racism was racist in the first place.
Zionists are also thieves because they are buying stolen Gaza land.
I have sat at passover with Zionists and they are the dumbest shittiest people just like the crazy evangelicals. Just shit people.
Good luck on getting them to admit any type of fault.
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There are governments that support Palestine, including Spain and Ireland. I guess the latter two are anti-Semite then.
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Freedom of speech. Except the speech we don’t like.
Are all Israelis Jewish? The US is such a fucking joke at this point. And it’s tedious to block community after community on lemmy to avoid the noise of vapidness. Good luck with your fucked up politics.
PS: I’d recommend excluding US specific news from “world news”. Not sure if this stuff is moderated, or if those who do, give af about it.
The politics of the global hegemon affects the entire world, as much as we hate it. Specially when it’s regarding a country they’re currently committing genocide in.
3/4 are Jewish which is an overwhelming majority but I also think there are great reasons to separate the classifications of Israeli and Jew. Mainly because the state is not led by the religion but instead by elected leaders.
Though that separation of church and state does seem to be diminishing as Bibi and his far right ultraorthodox cronies do seem to be slowly turning it into more of an authoritarian state.
Being Jewish is not the same as being Zionist. One of them has Nazi moral intent, and it’s not the Jews that oppose Zionism.
If this happened under Trump liberals would be up in arms. But it’s happening under Biden, so they don’t give a shit.
Once Obama got in office, Democrat stans suddenly didn’t care about the Global War(s) on Terrorism anymore. They were silent on his star chamber as well. It was a real wake-up call for me.
Democrats, Republicans, its the same picture.
Dems don’t even talk about Republicans or their policies anymore, they just namedrop trump then start preemptively blaming leftists for their losses as they tell leftists to eat dick and die.
Wonder what other things they’ll make illegal to compare to Nazis. Cause once you’re banning disparaging speech, why stop there?
As heavily as they’re censoring outlets to the point a tiktok ban suddenly isn’t laughable, I’m surprised they didn’t pass a law making calling it genocide a hate crime.
The highest order of interference in the US comes from AIPAC, it must go
