Bernie Sanders Leads Effort To BLOCK Bill That Said - Criticism Of Israel = "Antisemitism"
By: Desmond Price
I haven’t spent enough time discussing my feelings on Israel in this newsletter. Truth be told, seeing Donald Trump win the 2024 Election left me with a hopeless feeling for the people in Palestine. With his victory, I knew advocacy efforts would all but be in vein going forward.
With that being said, I want to make where I stand perfectly clear, especially for those who are unaware of my position, since most of you are not familiar with my coverage on Instagram.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the State of Israel is committing a genocide in the occupied territory of Gaza.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, who should be brought before the International Criminal Court.
There’s no doubt in my mind, that the Israeli Government has (legally) bought the influence of many politicians throughout our country & are using that influence to silence dissent here in our nation.
Now, let’s discuss how everything I just said, was almost criminalized by the Republican Party, before a Bernie Sanders led an effort to stop it.
This Is What Happened
An amendment saying that criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitic was added to the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday in a US Senate committee hearing.
The amendment was proposed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the Jewish progressive leader, and approved in a 12-11 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Sanders’ was one of seven amendments to be added to the bill, which would codify a widely adopted and controversial definition of antisemitism into US law.
That definition, by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, has been adopted by hundreds of governmental bodies and other entities but has drawn criticism from the left because it defines some criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
“One can criticize the government of Israel for their policies without being antisemitic,” said Sanders, the committee’s ranking member, during the hearing. “This amendment makes it clear that it is not antisemitic to oppose the Netanyahu-led war effort that has killed more than 50,000 people and wounded over 116,000, 60% of whom are women, children and the elderly.”
All committee Democrats and Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, voted for Sanders’ amendment. Those opposed said that the amendment and others acted as a poison pill.
Two other Sanders amendments were also approved by the committee, including one that states the federal government cannot compel schools to violate the First Amendment rights of a student or professor. The measure could impact the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activists.
Source - The Times Of Israel
My Reaction To This Story
First, I want to say how thankful I am for Senator Bernie Sanders and the other Senators who found a way to block this dangerous law from passing. It’s not hyperbolic to say that we are essentially lighting the first amendment on fire, if a law like that were to pass.
Make no mistake - trying to pass a law that says that criticizing a Government, is equivalent to hate speech, is patently insane.
Just apply that same line of thinking in another way. Would it make sense to say that:
Criticism of China was “anti-Chinese”
Criticism of Saudi Arabia was “Islamophobic”
Criticism of America was “anti-American”
The goal of legislation like this is obvious - they want to crackdown on criticism of the Israeli Government within the United States.
Now, I will say…
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