Congress could vote on legislation aimed at combating antisemitism as soon as this week, following a push by both Speaker Johnson and the Democratic leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, to put more than just a resolution of condemnation on the floor. There are multiple bills floating around the House at the moment that could provide tangible solutions, though Mr. Jeffries has already made his preference clear.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson went to Columbia University to meet with Jewish students and declare in front of the encampment protesters, “Neither Israel nor these Jewish students on this campus will ever stand alone.” He told reporters that Congress would take up legislation shortly and that it may be time for the National Guard to be sent on to the green.
The speaker has yet to make clear which of the myriad proposals that have been put forward he prefers, though Mr. Jeffries has alerted his members to expect a vote on Wednesday on the Countering Antisemitism Act, authored by the Democratic co-chairwoman and the Republican co-chairman of the bipartisan combating antisemitism task force.
The legislation, announced as a floor item on Monday, would provide federal resources and establish reporting requirements for incidents of antisemitism. If passed and signed by the president, the legislation would establish the position of national coordinator for combating antisemitism and would allocate money to the Federal Emergency Management Agency so that security funds for synagogues and Jewish schools would be guaranteed.
“Quite disturbingly … in the aftermath of the heinous October 7 attack by Hamas, antisemitic incidents have risen to historic levels,” Mr. Jeffries said in a letter to the speaker on Monday. “Other than taking up resolutions that are symbolically meaningful, the House has failed to consider comprehensive legislation to combat antisemitism.”
“The effort to crush antisemitism and hatred in any form is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It’s an American issue that must be addressed in a bipartisan manner with the fierce urgency of now. In this spirit, I strongly urge you to schedule a vote on the bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act forthwith,” he continued.
Another bipartisan bill introduced by two New York members, Congressmen Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler, would fund “antisemitism monitors” on college campuses across the country. The College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability Act, would hire private monitors through the Department of Education. Those monitors would be paid by the schools themselves.
Those monitors would write quarterly reports on “the progress that a college or university has made toward combating antisemitism.”
Congressman Thomas Massie, a conservative libertarian of Kentucky, has already said the idea of antisemitism monitors is “expressly” inconsistent with the First Amendment. “Policing speech, religion, and assembly is not the role of the federal government. In fact, it’s expressly prohibited by the U.S. Constitution,” Mr. Massie said on X.
Universities have been rocked for more than a week now by encampments that have popped up as a result of an occupation of Columbia University’s main green at New York City. On Monday, state police at the University of Texas at Austin broke up a small encampment on the school’s quad.
