Jewish Safety Is Not Israel’s Shield: Oppose HR9211

I urge you to oppose H.R. 9211, the Jewish American Security Act. If you have cosponsored it, withdraw your support. If it comes to committee or the floor, vote NO. Antisemitism is real and dangerous. Jewish communities deserve safety, dignity, and protection. But H.R. 9211 is not a good-faith safety bill. It is a poorly veiled attempt to further entrench U.S. law, education policy, law enforcement, and online speech regulation in support of Israel and in defense of Israel’s actions. That is unacceptable. The crisis Congress must confront is not that people are criticizing Israel too loudly. The crisis is that Israel is committing genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement, starvation, and the destruction of Palestinian life with U.S. weapons, U.S. funding, and U.S. diplomatic protection. H.R. 9211 treats Jewish safety as inseparable from support for Israel. That is false and dangerous. Jewish communities in the United States are not monolithic. Many Jews oppose Israel’s war, occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and U.S. complicity. Anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews also face antisemitism, threats, and bigotry — yet bills like this only seem to recognize Jewish safety when Jewish identity is aligned with Israel. This bill also ignores Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Christian, secular, and multiracial communities who face hate, surveillance, censorship, and political repression — especially when they speak out against Israel’s violence. Anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian racism have been growing for decades and have intensified dramatically. Congress cannot claim to fight hate while selectively protecting only the communities and viewpoints that serve U.S. foreign policy. Members of Congress can stand proudly against antisemitism without defending Israel’s impunity. You can stand for Jewish communities, Muslim communities, Palestinian communities, Christian communities, secular communities, and all communities facing hate without chilling protected speech or equating criticism or condemnation of Israel with hatred of Jews. Do not use Jewish safety as a shield for genocide. Do not use antisemitism legislation to protect Israel from accountability. Do not help turn opposition to Zionism, Palestinian liberation, or criticism of U.S.-Israel policy into a civil rights violation. This vote will matter. I will remember whether my representatives chose universal safety and free speech, or whether they used my community’s safety to defend Israel’s crimes. Vote NO on H.R. 9211.