Lawmakers quietly passed a resolution last week making anti-zionism a ‘hate crime’ in the United States of America.
On December 5, 2023, the House passed a resolution condemning the alleged “drastic rise of antisemitism” in America following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. The vote split Democrats, with many accussing Republicans of attempting to “weaponize Jewish pain.”
311 members of the House voted for the resolution, while 14 voted against and 92 voted present. The resolution reaffirms the House’s unwavering support for Zionist supremacy, and calls on elected officials and world leaders to label anti-zionism as antisemitism.
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Bigleaguepolitics.com reports: The 92 members of Congress who voted present did so because of pressure by Jewish Democrats such as Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin and New York Congressman Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman,
These three Democrats put out a statement earlier on December 5 criticizing the resolution as “the latest unserious attempt by Republicans to weaponize Jewish pain and the serious problem of antisemitism to score cheap political points.”
The coalition made the case that the resolution was redundant due to how the House passed a resolution the week prior affirming Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign state, while also declaring that December 5’s measure “does not account for the complexity of Judaism itself and ignores nuanced examples such as the Satmar sect, a Hasidic Jewish movement, which remains staunchly anti-Zionist and quite obviously not antisemitic.”
“In order to stop the Majority from playing these political games, we will vote Present, and we urge our colleagues — regardless of their substantive views of the resolution — to do the same,” they added.
13 Democrats voted against the resolution: New Jersey Congressman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Massachusetts Congressman Ayanna Pressley, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Pennsylvania Congresswoman Summer Lee, Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva, Illinois Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García, New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly, Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Illinois Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, and Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie was the sole Republican to stand against the measure.
BLP previously reported on Massie’s opposition to DC’s pro-Zionist inclinations, which should be commended. If we’re being honest here, this resolution, while it has no teeth, is the first step towards making criticism of Israel illegal. Such measures should be resolutely opposed on First Amendment grounds.
Nothing about Israel makes it exempt from criticism. In fact, it makes sense to criticize the US’s “special relation” with Israel, which has actually been noxious for the US. In these trying times, the last thing we need to do is discard foundational freedoms.
