This week, the members of the United States House of Representatives are scheduled to vote on H.Res. 1215, a resolution “Calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to join in efforts to educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community.”
In the whereas clauses of the resolution there are mentions of Major League Baseball players Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg, presented as “Jewish-American athletes” who “excelled at sports while staying true to their heritage.”
But, there is also outright deceit in the resolution’s whereas clauses. In particular, consider the statistic presented in the following whereas clause:
Whereas Hillel International has reported 1,597 antisemitic incidents on college campuses since October 7, 2023, a 700-percent increase over the same period in the prior year;
The deception in this whereas clause arises from Hillel International and other groups intentionally using the words “antisemitism” and “antisemitic” to refer to opinions, expressions, and actions far beyond what people ordinarily understand the terms to refer.
Other groups, listed in the beginning of a letter sent last year by Anti-Defamation League CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt, are in on and keen to expand the use of the deceptive expanded meaning of the words “antisemitism” and “antisemitic.” Greenblatt starts off the letter to university administrators as follows:
As the 2023-2024 school year begins, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), in consultation with our partners (in alphabetical order) at Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Chabad on Campus International, Hillel International, Jewish Grad Organization, Olami, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Delta Tau, and Zeta Beta Tau, would like to share our recommendations for campus administrators, consistent with the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism (National Strategy) released by the Biden-Harris Administration earlier this year, to help create an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment on campus for Jewish students at a time of rising antisemitism in higher education and across the globe.
The first recommendation in the letter is that universities adopt the definition of “antisemitism” adhered to by the organizations including Hillel International listed at the letter’s beginning — a definition of “antisemitism” that extends the word to apply to things far beyond what is covered in its commonly understood meaning. The letter states:
While there is no exhaustive definition of antisemitism, as it can take many forms, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition has become the preeminent definitional and learning tool in understanding manifestations of antisemitism today, and it includes useful examples of discriminatory anti-Israel acts that cross the line into antisemitism. The U.S. Department of Education is required to consider the IHRA definition when investigating complaints of antisemitic discrimination on college and university campuses. The IHRA definition is also used by over 1,100 other governments, universities, NGOs, and other key institutions, demonstrating a substantial and clear worldwide consensus.
We urge you to endorse the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and rely on it when investigating reports of antisemitic harassment and discrimination on your campus.
Did you catch that mention of “anti-Israel acts” constituting antisemitism? That is quite an addition to the meaning of a word that is commonly understood to relate to religion or ethnicity, not opposition to a government or its statements or actions. So no wonder the statistic referenced in the resolution whereas clause shows a huge increase in “antisemitic incidents on college campuses since October 7, 2023.” There has been abundant new political speech and protest on American college campuses over the last eight months against the way the Israel government has been over that time carrying out its military action in Gaza and beyond, as well as against how the Israel government has been otherwise acting in regard to Palestinians. The crafty new “antisemitism” definition employed by Hillel International and other entities is being employed to deceptively redefine much of that speech and protest as “antisemitic.”
In short, the antisemitic incidents statistic in the House resolution is a big fraud.
I wrote in more detail about the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s “Working Definition of Antisemitism” in my April 26 article “The New ‘Texas Antisemitism Lottery’ Should Pay Out Big in Lawsuit Awards and Settlements.” That article deals with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s use of this same deceptive redefining of “antisemitism” in his effort to shut down at colleges in Texas speech critical of the Israel government.
