Reject the “Antisemitism Awareness Act”–Opposition to Israel is NOT Antisemitic

I urge you to reject the so-called “Antisemitism Awareness Act,” recently reintroduced by Reps. Lawler, Gottheimer, Miller, and Moskowitz. This bill does not protect Jewish students or communities. Instead, it exploits antisemitism as a political weapon to silence criticism of Israel, using the deeply flawed International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition to conflate opposition to Israel or Zionism with hatred of Jewish people. This dangerous misrepresentation undermines actual efforts to combat antisemitism and falsely portrays Jews as a monolith. In reality, opposition to Zionism and Israel’s policies has existed within Jewish communities since their inception. The values of Judaism—rooted in human rights and the sanctity of life—demand justice, not blind allegiance to any state. Enshrining the IHRA definition into law would further legitimize the weaponization of antisemitism accusations against human rights advocates, including Jews who speak out against Israel’s atrocities. Furthermore, assuming that all Jewish people share the same political views is itself antisemitic. The Human Rights Watch statement linked below underscores the dangers of redefining antisemitism in a way that erodes free speech and shields a government from accountability: (https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/04/human-rights-and-other-civil-society-groups-urge-united-nations-respect-human) I expect you to uphold free expression and protect Jewish communities by rejecting this bill. True opposition to antisemitism means fighting white supremacy, violent hate groups, and discrimination—not shielding a government from legitimate criticism.