For decades, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has told everyone that he was the watchman for American Jewish interests and the U.S.-Israel relationship.
During a November speech on the Senate floor, Schumer said, "Vitriol against Israel in the wake of Oct. 7 is all too often crossing into brazen and widespread antisemitism, the likes of which we haven't seen for generations in this country, if ever.”
And those left most vulnerable and defenseless against antisemitism under the guise of anti-Zionism are Jewish students who have been intimidated, attacked and stigmatized on American campuses, abandoned by cowardly university administrators and faculty. The need for action by the Department of Education is evident, but it requires defining antisemitism to enact consequences.
The House took up the mantle. It passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 on an overwhelming bipartisan vote, 320-91. It would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, giving the Department of Education the ability to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws.
It would state that "denying the Jewish people their right to........