After taking greater than $1 million from AIPAC, Sen. Jacky Rosen is pushing the federal government to use a definition of antisemitism that human rights teams say might be used to silence reliable criticism of Israel.
Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen just lately proposed bipartisan laws that will create a brand new nationwide coordinator to steer efforts to counter antisemitism, together with steps to deal with the unfold of antisemitism on-line.
“There have been numerous disturbing tales of Jewish households accosted and assaulted on streets, Jewish companies and locations of worship vandalized and desecrated, and Jewish college students threatened at faculties and universities,” Rosen mentioned in a press launch asserting her invoice. “My bipartisan laws would set up a Nationwide Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism for the primary time ever, and take different much-needed steps throughout the federal authorities to battle anti-Jewish hatred, bigotry, and violence in the US.”
Rosen’s workplace says her invoice, titled the Countering Antisemitism Act, would assist implement the Biden administration’s Nationwide Technique to Counter Antisemitism, unveiled in Could of final 12 months, however a evaluate of the legislative textual content reveals it differs from the administration’s plan in a key method. Whereas the Biden plan declined to endorse a specific definition of antisemitism, saying “there are a number of definitions of antisemitism,” Rosen’s invoice endorses a definition of antisemitism that has been promoted by U.S. Jewish teams together with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), however one which human rights organizations argue might be used to label criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
Rosen’s invoice would declare it’s the sense of Congress that the definition of antisemitism that was adopted in 2016 by the Worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) needs to be utilized by all federal state and native companies. AIPAC, together with different pro-Israel organizations together with the American Zionist Motion and the Anti-Defamation League, have been lobbying Congress to endorse and undertake the IHRA definition. In a February letter to Congress, the teams argued that “adoption of any alternate definition of antisemitism would undermine efforts to guard Jewish communities.”
The IHRA’s “working definition of antisemitism” is comparatively easy – “Antisemitism is a sure notion of Jews, which can be expressed as hatred towards Jews…” – however it’s accompanied by a sequence of “up to date examples of antisemitism” that civil society teams say are used to silence dissent.
The IHRA examples of antisemitism embrace “Denying the Jewish folks their proper to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” and “Making use of double requirements by requiring of [Israel] a habits not anticipated or demanded of every other democratic nation.” In line with a letter by Amnesty Worldwide, Human Rights Watch, and different teams, the instance of calling Israel a racist endeavor might be used “to label as antisemitic documentation displaying that Israel’s founding concerned dispossessing many Palestinians.” The teams additionally argue that the “double requirements” instance “opens the door to labeling as antisemitic anybody who focuses on Israeli abuses so long as worse abuses are deemed to be occurring elsewhere.”
Rosen’s invoice wouldn’t make the IHRA definition legally binding, however it says that Congress desires companies to make use of it.
Rosen has been among the many largest recipients of cash from AIPAC throughout this session of Congress. Since January 1, 2023, her marketing campaign has obtained greater than $1.1 million in bundled contributions from AIPAC’s PAC, in accordance with disclosures filed with the Federal Election Fee. The Home model of the invoice is sponsored by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), who has additionally obtained substantial AIPAC funding. In line with OpenSecrets, AIPAC has given her $216,000 to date this election cycle. The cash didn’t come from AIPAC itself, however somewhat from its members or workers. Rosen and Manning, each of whom are Jewish, are the co-chairs of their chambers’ bipartisan process forces on combating antisemitism.
Requested if the AIPAC donations influenced her laws, Sen. Rosen’s press secretary informed Sludge to succeed in out to the senator’s marketing campaign. Rosen for Nevada didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The Republican co-sponsors of the invoice embrace Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), and Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas).
