WASHINGTON (TND) — The House voted to pass a bill providing a broader definition of antisemitism in discrimination cases on Wednesday. The vote taking place as college protests have crippled campuses nationwide.
The proposal, which passed 320-91 with some bipartisan support, would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal anti-discrimination law that bars discrimination based on shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or national origin. It now goes to the Senate for a vote.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the bill would broaden the legal definition of antisemitism to include the “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity." Critics say the move would have a chilling effect on free speech throughout college campuses. Advocates of the proposal say it would provide a much-needed, consistent framework for the Department of Education to police and investigate the rising cases of discrimination and harassment targeted toward Jewish students.
Columbia University was a virtual ghost town Wednesday after nearly two weeks of protests that threw the school into chaos. The New York Police Department moved in on anti-Israel protesters occupying a Columbia University building. Video showed officers in riot gear clearing Hamilton Hall.
More protestors clashed with police at City College about a mile away from Columbia. The NYPD took down a Palestinian flag and restored the American flag to a campus flagpole there.
Around 300 people were arrested between the two incidents. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said outside agitators took over the protests.
"There were those who were never concerned about free speech. They were concerned about chaos. It was about external actors hijacking peaceful protests and influence students to escalate. There's nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property or dismantling security cameras," Adams said after the Tuesday night campus raids.
There were more clashes around the country. UCLA called for police after Pro-Israel counterprotesters confronted the school’s Pro-Palestinian encampment. At the University of Wisconsin Wednesday morning police dismantled an encampment after protestors were warned they violated school code.
Republican Senators railed on the Democratic response to the protests on Capitol Hill.
“It just goes to show you that sometimes old people can suck," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., as he was talking about the President's response to the protestors. “President Biden is scared to death to alienate the Hamas wing of the Democratic party."
Democratic leadership in the Senate didn’t address the campus crackdowns directly.
“I have made my views clear in a statement that I gave on the floor yesterday about violence at Columbia and on campuses. There’s no place for violence or antisemitism," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Some House Republicans toured an encampment at George Washington University in D.C. and plan to have a hearing next week to investigate reports that DC police refused to help clear protestors from campus.
Separately, Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday that several House committees will be tasked with a wide probe that ultimately threatens to withhold federal research grants and other government support for universities, placing another pressure point on campus administrators who are struggling to manage pro-Palestinian encampments, allegations of discrimination against Jewish students and questions of how they are integrating free speech and campus safety.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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