Newly elected House Representative Gabe Amo of Rhode Island took a turn when one of his first votes was to back a House Republican resolution regarding Israel. This resolution, H.Res.894, titles itself as condemning antisemitism. The text is lengthy, but there was a slight problem that was quickly noticed by many Democrats.
That the House of Representatives—
(1) strongly condemns and denounces all instances of antisemitism occurring in the United States and globally;
(2) reaffirms and reiterates its strong support for the Jewish community at home and abroad;
(3) calls on elected officials and world leaders to condemn and fight all forms of domestic and global antisemitism;
(4) clearly and firmly states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism; and
(5) rejects all forms of terror, hate, discrimination, and harassment of members of the Jewish community.
Many House members released statements expressing similar sentiment, asserting that this Republican-forwarded-resolution was nothing more than theatrics and doesn’t actually do or represent anything meaningful. They also argued that point (4) in said resolution sets a bad precedent and is simply not accurate. Since criticism of Zionism would be frowned upon, would condemning Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people be considered antisemitic? What about calling for a ceasefire or, more importantly, displaying any support for Palestine in general?
I agree with the criticisms of this resolution and would go further: is this not potentially setting an anti-free speech precedent? And what of anti-Zionist jews?
Gabe Amo, as I predicted, followed his very moderate views, and is now going to stall progress on most work. In this case, it involves what we ought to be advocating for: a complete ceasefire and condemnation of how Israel has handled the situation. It’s also important to take note of the reason for Hamas’s existence, specifically the role of colonialism and how violence breeds extremism. Amo should really follow in the footsteps of his Democrat and progressive colleagues and stop supporting Republican ridiculousness.
