Should the House Call on Americans to Fight Anti-Semitism & All Forms of Bigotry? (H. Res. 183)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H. Res. 183?
(Updated April 10, 2021)
This resolution would express the sense of the House of Representatives that all Americans have a stake in fighting anti-Semitism and every form of bigotry and hatred against people based on religion, race, sexual orientation, or place of birth and origin. It’d reject the perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes in the U.S. and around the world, including the pernicious myth of dual loyalty and foreign allegiance, especially in the context of support for the U.S-.Israel relationship. It’d condemn anti-Semitic statements as contrary to American values, and reject attempts to justify hatred or violent attacks. The resolution would also acknowledge the harm suffered by Muslims and others from anti-Muslim bigotry and violence. Further, the resolution would condemn the death threats received by Jewish and Muslim members of Congress in recent weeks, and call on public officials to confront anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and all other forms of bigotry.
As a simple resolution, this legislation is non-binding and wouldn’t advance beyond the House if passed.
Argument in favor
Anti-Semitic stereotypes questioning the loyalty of Jewish-Americans because of their views on the U.S.-Israel relationship are unacceptable in our public discourse. All Americans should fight against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and all other form of bigotry based on religion, race, or place of birth and origin.
Argument opposed
This resolution should focus specifically on recent anti-Semitic comments made by members of Congress, broadening it to include all forms of hatred dilutes its impact in driving home the message that anti-Semitism is unacceptable. Alternatively, this bill is a waste of time and won’t stop bigotry.
Impact
The House of Representatives.
Cost of H. Res. 183
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Initially, Democrats drafted this resolution in response to several instances of lawmakers being accused of playing to anti-Semitic stereotypes since the 116th Congress began:
In January 2019, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) apologized for a 2012 tweet in which she wrote that Israel had “hypnotized the world”.
In February 2019, Omar (D-MN) accused the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) ― a non-profit that advocates for Israel but doesn’t donate directly to candidates ― of paying politicians to be pro-Israel. She had previously tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins baby” to explain U.S. political leaders support for Israel, implying they'd been bought off by Jewish money. That drew bipartisan condemnation and led to the adoption of an amendment expressing that countering anti-Semitism around the world is in the national security interest of the U.S. Omar later apologized and deleted the tweets.
In March 2019, Omar (D-MN) accused American politicians who support Israel of having “allegiance to a foreign country”. The allegation of dual loyalty is a trope that has been used to justify persecution of Jews dating back to the 1st Century. Omar hasn’t apologized for these comments.
Later in March 2019, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) referenced prominent Democratic donor Tom Steyer as “$teyer” in a tweet which was accused of playing to stereotypes about the influence of Jewish money. (Steyer is of Jewish descent but is a practicing Episcopalian.)
After some Democrats expressed concern about voting on a resolution condemning only the anti-Semitic comments made by Omar, the legislation was broadened to serve as a statement of values against all forms bigotry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) emphasized that this resolution isn’t about Omar’s comments, saying that “it’s not about her” and saying “I do not believe that she understood the full weight of the words... I feel confident that her words were not based on any anti-Semitic attitude”. Pelosi added:
“We are not policing the speech of our members. We are condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Islamophobia and we are condemning white supremacy.”
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) spoke on the House floor to express his concern that Omar’s comments weren’t being adequately confronted:
“The attacks on our colleagues because they are Muslim, or African-American, or Hispanic, or members of the LGBTQ community must be condemned when it’s based on hatred. But when a colleague invokes classic anti-Semitic lies three times, then this body must condemn that anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is worthy of being taken seriously on its own. It’s worthy of being singularly called out: ‘Jews control the world’, ‘Jews care only about money’, ‘Jews have dual loyalty and can’t be patriotic members of the country in which they live’. Words matter. For generations, they have had dangerous consequences for me, for my family, and for my people. This shouldn’t be so hard.”
Media:
Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: iStock.com / yoglimogli)
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