Dear Senators Cassidy and Sanders, and Members of the Committee,

As the Washington Director of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, I write to urge you to oppose the Antisemitism Awareness Act (S. 558) in this Committee’s markup. As the largest national Jewish organization focused exclusively on domestic policy with supporters across the country, Bend the Arc is deeply concerned about antisemitism in our country today. We work to fight antisemitism for the safety of our multiracial, multiethnic American Jewish community, and also for the health of our democracy more broadly. We therefore appreciate Congress’s desire to be attentive to this issue, but we are deeply concerned that this legislation is more likely to undermine the safety of Jews and act as a gag bill, rather than achieve its stated goals, and must therefore oppose this legislation.

This legislation would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism as the definition of antisemitism that our government uses. In short, we — and other Jewish organizations — do not believe that the IHRA definition should be codified into law. Such a singular focus on the IHRA definition is both unnecessary and a potentially harmful distraction from the real work of dismantling antisemitism. Even Kenneth Stern, one of the core authors of the definition, who recently testified before this Committee, has spent years voicing his concerns about the definition being used in law and the way that the definition has been used to challenge free speech and organizing.

In this present moment, we are concerned not merely for Jewish safety, but for our democracy, which is essential to the safety of Jews in the United States. The freedom to protest and to disagree on matters of policy is necessary for the health of our democratic society and must be protected, and we are firmly against antisemitism being used as an excuse to threaten free speech. To be clear, criticism of American policy towards Israel is not inherently antisemitic. Unfortunately, the IHRA definition and its examples undermine the fight against antisemitism because of their broad characterization of criticism of Israel, which can be used to obfuscate what antisemitism actually is and to instead stifle genuine debate.

Indeed, the Trump administration is already using the facade of “fighting antisemitism” as an excuse to detain protesters like Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri, and Rümeysa Öztürk, using logical leaps like those made by the examples in the IHRA definition. We unequivocally reject the premise that detaining and deporting students for exercising their right to free speech protects Jews; we see these actions as nothing more than cynical attempts to use antisemitism to enact a cruel, authoritarian agenda, to attack those who disagree with the administration’s positions, and to dismantle democracy. In her op-ed in Haaretz, “'Smokescreen Antisemitism': How the Trump-fueled Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil Endangers Jews” Bend the Arc: Jewish Action CEO Jamie Beran explains how this strategy is merely an attempt “to obscure, confuse, and create cover for [the administration’s] despotic plans that harm everyone. Their goal is to generate division and fear to grow their power and wealth, and most importantly, to distract from their own, very real, antisemitism.”

It is critical that members of the Senate serve as a bulwark against any legislation that would endorse and fuel the administration’s misuse of the fight against antisemitism to crack down on freedom of speech. We urge Senators who may have supported this bill in the past to look at how these tools are being used now to detain students, as well as to deny funding to universities. Enshrining the IHRA definition into law would only give the administration further license to continue these unjust actions.

Rather than a codified definition, we need a multi-pronged approach to fighting antisemitism and all forms of bigotry that uses the existing tools of government as well as structural reforms that ensure a thriving and inclusive democracy where every single one of us is safe, no matter our race, class, ability, or faith. Indeed, we know from decades of work with government entities that a codified definition is not necessary for advancing important work to fight antisemitism and other forms of bias-motivated harm. Indeed, no other form of bias has a legally codified definition, and that fact does not hinder governments from enforcing statutes preventing discrimination, among other critical efforts to prevent bias-motivated harm.

One important example is the Biden Administration's national strategy to combat antisemitism, which was developed without such a codified definition. Further, the national strategy contained a multitude of concrete action steps that the current administration has chosen not to implement, despite its purported commitment to fighting antisemitism. Additionally, we urge you to support robust funding for the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education and the restoration of jobs in this department eliminated by the Trump administration.

Again, we appreciate and welcome Congress’s attention to fighting against antisemitism and for the safety of Jews and indeed all people in our country today. But as this legislation does not achieve that critical goal and could instead do more harm than good, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action urges all Senators to vote NO on the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block
Washington Director, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action