The resolution makes a dangerous conflation,
yet many Democrats gave their support
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling/The New Republic
(December 5, 2023) — Ninety-five Democrats helped the House GOP pass its disingenuous resolution against antisemitism on Tuesday, which effectively condemns any criticism of the Israeli state.
House Resolution 894 falsely states that “and criticizes several protest chants for Palestinian freedom that are protected by the First Amendment, including “From the River to the Sea,” “Palestine Will Be Free,” and “Gaza Will Win.”
It passed with 311 votes in its favor, 14 against it (13 of them Democrats), and 92 present votes from Democrats.
The resolution suggests that all anti-Zionism—it states—is antisemitism. That’s either intellectually disingenuous or just factually wrong,” said New York Representative Jerry Nadler, who voted present. “The authors if they were at all familiar with Jewish history and culture should know about Jewish anti-Zionism that was and is expressly not antisemitic. This resolution ignores the fact that even today, certain Orthodox Hasidic Jewish communities … have held views that are at odds with the modern Zionist conception.”
Notably, some of the yea votes came from Democrats who have also supported calls for a cease-fire, including Representatives Kweisi Mfume, Maxwell Frost, Jared Huffman, Terri Sewell, and Sanford Bishop Jr.
“Unfortunately, the extreme Republican resolution, H.Res. 894, does absolutely nothing to counter antisemitism, and it only seeks to divide us and weaponize Jewish lives for political gains,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky, one of 26 Jewish members of the House who has called for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“It includes an overly broad definition of antisemitism that could deem any criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitic. This resolution has been rushed to the floor without careful and considerate collaboration.”
Here Are the 95 Democrats
Who Voted for the Resolution
- Alma Adams
- Colin Allred
- Gabe Amo
- Jake Auchincloss
- Ami Bera
- Sanford D. Bishop Jr.
- Lisa Blunt Rochester
- Julia Brownley
- Nikki Budzinski
- Yadira Caraveo
- Salud Carbajal
- Matt Cartwright
- Kathy Castor
- Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
- Steve Cohen
- Jim Costa
- Joe Courtney
- Angie Craig
- Jason Crow
- Henry Cuellar
- Don Davis
- Rosa DeLauro
- Chris Deluzio
- Anna Eshoo
- Lizzie Fletcher
- Lois Frankel
- Maxwell Frost
- Ruben Gallego
- Jared Golden
- Vicente Gonzalez
- Josh Gottheimer
- Josh Harder
- Jahana Hayes
- Brian Higgins
- Jim Himes
- Steven Horsford
- Steny Hoyer
- Jared Huffman
- Jeff Jackson
- William Keating
- Derek Kilmer
- Ann Kuster
- Greg Landsman
- John Larson
- Susie Lee
- Mike Levin
- Stephen Lynch
- Kathy Manning
- Doris Matsui
- Kweisi Mfume
- Joe Morelle
- Jared Moskowitz
- Seth Moulton
- Frank J. Mrvan
- Richard Neal
- Joe Neguse
- Wiley Nickel
- Donald Norcross
- Frank Pallone Jr.
- Jimmy Panetta
- Chris Pappas
- Bill Pascrell Jr.
- Mary Peltola
- Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez
- Scott Peters
- Brittany Pettersen
- Mike Quigley
- A. Dutch Ruppersberger
- Adam Schiff
- Brad Schneider
- Hillary Scholten
- Kim Schrier
- David Scott
- Terri Sewell
- Brad Sherman
- Elissa Slotkin
- Adam Smith
- Eric Sorensen
- Darren Soto
- Abigail Spanberger
- Melanie Stansbury
- Greg Stanton
- Haley Stevens
- Eric Swalwell
- Emilia Sykes
- Shri Thanedar
- Mike Thompson
- Dina Titus
- Norma Torres
- Ritchie Torres
- David Trone
- Juan Vargas
- Marc Veasey
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Frederica Wilson
Here Are the Lawmakers
Who Voted for the Resolution
Just 14 lawmakers voted against the resolution, including Representatives Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Gerald Connolly, Jesús Garcia, Raúl Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Summer Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Congress’s only Palestinian representative, Rashida Tlaib.
The small Democratic crowd was also joined by one Republican congressman, Representative Thomas Massie.
“Unfortunately, the extreme Republican resolution, H.Res. 894, does absolutely nothing to counter antisemitism, and it only seeks to divide us and weaponize Jewish lives for political gains,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky, one of 26 Jewish members of the House who has called for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“It includes an overly broad definition of antisemitism that could deem any criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitic. This resolution has been rushed to the floor without careful and considerate collaboration.”
As of Monday, 15,899 Palestinians — at least 70 percent of them women and children — have been killed in the conflict since the initial attack by Hamas, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
