92 Democrats vote ‘present’ and 13 vote AGAINST resolution condemning surge of anti-Semitism and equating it with anti-Zionism
- The vote was 311 to 14, with 92 Democrats voting “present” and 17 members not voting.
- Thirteen Democrats voted against the measure.
- One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against it.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution affirming that anti-Semitism is synonymous, in another vote supporting Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip.
The vote was 311 to 14, with 92 Democrats voting “present” and 17 members not voting.
Thirteen Democrats, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Cori Bush, D-Mo., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., voted against the measure.
One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against it.
The resolution, introduced by Jewish Republicans David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, and Max Miller, R-Ohio, both condemns anti-Semitism and “states clearly and firmly that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”
Thirteen Democrats, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Cori Bush, D-Mo., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., voted against the measure.
On the eve of the vote, Massie posted a meme of rapper Drake saying that Congress has done more to support Zionism than American patriotism.
A group of Jewish Democrats, including Representatives Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman (both of New York) and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, voted “present” on the resolution and called it “the latest half-hearted attempt by Republicans to weaponize Jewish pain.”
They noted that last week the House of Representatives had already passed a resolution arguing that “denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of anti-Semitism.”
The group also noted that there are Jewish anti-Zionists, including the Satmar sect, who are “clearly not anti-Semitic.”
Some liberals have expressed concern that such sentiments could lead to any criticism of the Israeli government being labeled as anti-Semitism.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of anti-Zionism is “opposition to the establishment or support of the State of Israel.” The definition of anti-Semitism is stated as “hostility or prejudice against the Jewish people.”
The resolution came after the Anti-Defamation League reported a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
This came after House Republicans invited Jewish students to talk about anti-Semitism on their college campuses.
One MIT student said she had to leave her doctoral group because members of her group told her that “the people at the Nova music festival deserved to die because they were having fun on stolen land.”
A New York University student told reporters: “I hear calls to gas the Jews, and they tell me Hitler was right.”