A bipartisan bill aimed at addressing rising antisemitism on college campuses has been amended with a religious liberty clause to protect statements claiming Jews killed Jesus, a move seen as a concession to Christian conservatives.
The Antisemitism Awareness Act would require the U.S. Department of Education to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
Under the said definition, claims of “Jews killing Jesus” used to “characterize Israel or Israelis” or “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” can be considered antisemitic and punishable by law.
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The updated language, added ahead of a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee vote on Wednesday, states that the legislation will not “diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, including … the free exercise of religion.”
Proposed by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the HELP Committee chair, the amendment is aimed at addressing concerns from some Republicans, including Sens. Tommy Tuberville. R-Ala. and Roger Marshall. R-Kan., who worried the bill could restrict Christian teachings that reference the historical — and controversial — claim of Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ crucifixion.
The act was initially introduced amid a wave of anti-Israel protests and antisemitic incidents on college campuses throughout the United States, spurred in response to the Israeli war against Hamas that ignited when the terrorist organization attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people.
The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 2024 with a 320-91 vote but stalled in the Senate over free speech concerns. Its reintroduction this year has reignited tensions, with critics on both sides raising alarms.
Last year, 21 House Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FLa., opposed the bill. They say that labeling the “Jews killed Jesus” claim as antisemitic could infringe on Christian beliefs. Greene argued that the legislation “could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel” that describes Jesus’ crucifixion involving Jewish authorities.
In addition to Republicans, left-leaning Jewish organizations such as J Street and New Israel Fund released a joint statement in opposition to the Antisemitism Awareness Act for representing what they see as an endorsement of the Trump administration’s “efforts to weaponize antisemitism.”
“Voting in favor of this legislation in this current political climate would represent an endorsement of the Trump administration’s escalating efforts to weaponize antisemitism as a pretext for undermining civil rights, deporting political dissidents, and attacking the fundamental pillars of our democracy, making the Jewish community and others less safe,” they stated.
