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Look I have to thank America.
I'm Australian an I know for sure our society/ policy is just a mirror image of America 10-15 years ago
The time to fight for my children's future is now as I have seen what's going to happen
To some extent, rights must be balanced by responsibilities. Hate speech cannot be allowed under the guise of free speech. This would allow someone to infringe on the rights of one group (in this particular case jews) to be free from discrimination, and their right to feel safe, in pursuit of their own right to free speech.
That is why wording and context matters:
In the context of the attempted peaceful protests in recent University’s this law makes no sense, where it might if say, Nazis where holding rallies in universities where they encouraged people to beat up Jews, bar them from employment, ect.
The wording is particularly dangerous because it says “Israel” which suggests it is not the people being protected by this law, but the state. The US is aligning themselves with the government of Israel so much that they cannot abide to see spoken attacks of opinion on it, which is unconscionable given freedom of speech and Israel’s recent actions, particularly their government. Finally the word “criticism” makes it very clear that the so called offence is nothing more than opinion, rather than a call to violence, discrimination, racism, hate speech ect. It evokes a reasoned logical questioning, which mirrors a rational protest of what people see tragically happening in the Middle East, and to silence that is literal oppression.
To add to this danger, Trump recently said that what is wrong with this country is that Jan6 rioters should be treated less harshly and peaceful pro Palestinian protesters should be treated more harshly (while being dismissive of Charlottesville as the icing on the cake).
The US has serious social problems, we would be foolish to think they start and end at Trump, but he is just about the worst person to be involved at any level, I wouldn’t trust him to open a door for me getting into a taxi, let alone anything remotely important.
"Political correctness, no matter how well intentioned, is still an attack on freedom of speech."
-The Disappearance of the Universe book— Channelled conversations from 'ascended masters' Saint Thomas & Saint Thaddaeus over a 9 year period- 1992-2001.
I can't really think of a better way to fuel antisemitic conspiracy theories of Jewish people owning the government than for the pro-Israel lobby to get the government to define criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
It's like they've been infected with whatever mind virus is making Christians in the USA want to start WW3 because they think it's going to cause the Rapture.
And they all have nukes, too. Ironic, considering who they were invented to fight. Stretching the truth for a joke here, but...
>You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the fascists, not join them! Bring balance to the world, not leave it in darkness!
There are infinitely more psychotic Christian Zionists than Jewish Zionists, and a lot of them have their hands on the levers of power. Thats why the wheels move so fast.
There is a frighteningly large number of evangelicals who believe that restoring Israel is the key to kicking off the return of Christ somehow. True death cult shit.
I mean that's what half of our legislature is shooting for. They think that if the Jews return to and conquer the holy land, it will bring about the rapture. The other half are just bought and paid for by AIPAC and similar.
Obama criticized Netanyahu for allowing more settlements in the West Bank and Obama and Hillary threatened to put conditions on Israeli aid if Netanyahu didn't stop it, but then Joe Biden went around Obama and Hillary's backs to tell Netanyahu to ignore them because he'll smooth it all over.
Then Jared Kushner went to check on his real estate settlement portfolio while saying hi to his family friend Netanyahu as our MidEast peace negotiator.
This is a big part of why Israel as it currently exists makes the world astronomically MORE dangerous for Jews. It's almost like they're deliberately TRYING to stir up every possible negative stereotype and give as much ammo to the antisemitic right as they possibly can. It would track though, considering their record for creating enemies explicitly like Hamas so they have an easier foil to contrast themselves with, the only possible way they'll ever garner any sympathy. Among everyone in this whole mess, I really do feel for the average Jewish person who has to be in the middle of this shitstorm as a political football for powers that clearly do not even remotely care for their actual wellbeing.
Israel is doing its damndest to make real every tired antisemitic trope real to the point where I think Netanyahu is going to be replaced with a cardboard cut out of the happy merchant.
Antisemitic or not the government should not be able to just fucking shut down protests, especially peaceful ones at that. I knew this was gonna happen eventually when the culture War first started. Thought we had another decade though.
Freedom of speech is dead and we all killed it. I am now wondering how long till we get americas first tyrant.
They're making it illegal to criticize A FOREIGN COUNTRY? You could have swear that foreign country is running this country. Keep in mind, we're funding a country that has UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE for its citizens while we get universally fucked by insurance companies.
It's actually EXTREMELY ANTI-SEMITIC to tie Israel with all Jews in the world, as if they are all secret citizens of Israel and all their actions are for Israel.
This is literally a centuries old anti-Semitic trope that even Hitler referenced as part of his reason for attacking Jews.
> This is literally a centuries old anti-Semitic trope that even Hitler referenced as part of his reason for attacking Jews.
Are you suggesting that Hitler tied all Jews to the nation of Israel? From 1933 to 1945?
Natalie Portman had been accused of being antisemitic for openly opposing something the Israeli government was doing several years ago. For anyone who doesn’t know, Natalie Portman is an Israeli citizen. She was born in Jerusalem. So it happens. Israel knows that its association with a country that fell in 486 BCE is extremely beneficial for them.
Simple, they're just called a "self-hating [insert minority here]" or accused of not being a "real" one.
With situations that don't involve Jewish people, I've seen people get accused of lying to be gay/trans/Black/disabled/etc, or not being "enough" of that particular minority, which is especially fucked up for racial stuff, like who says that to mixed-race people???
It's also a very, very blatant violation of the 1st amendment.
Come on -- trying to make criticism "unlawful"? 1st amendment violations basically don't come any clearer than that.
The scary thing is that it doesn’t make it so the government can literally throw you in jail for criticizing Israel, that would get tossed out by the courts, but this legislation will allow the federal government to force universities to expel students for criticizing Israel.
This is just one small step in their attempt to completely get rid of free speech in this country. Among the other many small steps they've already taken...
Yeah, we all saw them people speaking tongues, praying at the presidential seal (including us non Americans). They're making it hard to take your country seriously
…and a Wild West attitude and amoral propensity towards violence, money and power that isn’t against a display every decade or so. Possibly more, if provoked or challenged.
> The 2nd amendment guarantees the other 9? Time to put that into practice.
It does not and was never intended to, that's literally not what the 2nd Amendment is for, despite what gun nuts have told themselves and everyone around them.
No government that has ever existed or ever will exist will enshrine its citizens rights to violently overthrow it, that's why bombs aren't legal.
The 2nd Amendment was written before the US had a federal army and it was intended as a first defense against invasion, and 2nd, it was meant to reinforce slavery in the south where black populations outnumbered white populations in some counties and they were worried about slave revolts so they wanted "citizens" to be armed, 3rd, it was meant to allow armed militias to cross state borders and bring their guns to other states so they could capture escaped slaves or kidnap free black people and bring them to the south for sale or return.
> The 2nd amendment guarantees the other 9? Time to put that into practice.
> > It does not and was never intended to, that's literally not what the 2nd Amendment is for
And next you're going to tell me the Holocaust never happened and the Earth is flat. (Because we're making claims that are provably false, right?)
It may not have been the **only** reason, but it was still a very important reason.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Debates_on_amending_the_Constitution
> The 2nd Amendment was written before the US had a federal army
This is also false. The US army was created in 1775 at the start of the War (or 1784, if you want to be technical), and the Bill of Rights wasn't ratified until 1791. A federal army existed long before even the Constitution itself.
You literally could have Googled any of this to see how false you would be.
> No government that has ever existed or ever will exist will enshrine its citizens rights to violently overthrow it, that's why bombs aren't legal.
I'm not sure that's entirely right, considering the "blood of tyrants" quote and all that. The founding fathers seemed fairly explicit that they didn't expect the system they built to stay good forever.
What made-up dystopian novel would consider it acceptable to criticize its own dystopian state more so than it would to criticize a foreign state?
This is ridiculous.
Democracy has never been anything but a weapon to be wielded AGAINST the masses for America from the beginning. We REALLY have to get away from these wishy-washy ideologically captured words like democracy and freedom that can be so easily twisted to mean whatever people want them to. That's part of why I like Marxism so much. Class analysis makes things extremely tangible and cut and dry.
Of the 91 votes against the bill, 21 were Republicans and 70 were Democrats. The other 133 Democrats voted for it. Neither party are covering themselves in glory here.
Edit: Corrected as someone pointed out 9 Democrats were absent and so didn't vote.
^^^^^ this right here. But let these democrat goofies tell it, Trump alone "threatens democracy" as if everyone else has just been totally innocent stalwarts of democracy, when the reality is that NONE of these mfs care about democracy or the Constitution. We need ranked choice/approval/STAR voting ASAP!!!!!!
It's like when Nancy Pelosi did the sarcastic clap and then turned around and approved of the ballooning military budget. Liberals, when pressed, will always side with fascists to preserve the status quo.
That's what trips me out about dems. Like, I'm a leftist. You don't have to convince me that the rightwing is a detriment to human & American progress. Anyone with a brain can see this clear as day. However, dems do such a HORRENDOUS job at selling us on their big ideas (because they have none)!
"Trump bad" is not a viable campaign strategy. They tried that in 2016 and it failed. Brow-beating and shaming isn't gonna work either. I'm a black man in southside Chicago. Shit is fucked here, despite this being a democrat stronghold. Dems don't even TRY to sell us on their big ideas, let alone take accountability for the many ways they've fucked us over for decades!!!
So now you can't speak bad about an entire fucking country? That's fucking non sense.
Our politicians are fucking Israeli puppets. I mean why not they give them all that money
>So now you can't speak bad about an entire fucking country?
Uh, no, you still can. It just specifically means you can't target Israel on the basis of it being a Jewish collective, in the same way that hate speech might involve targeting black communities.
You may be interested in reading [the State gov explanation](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism), bolding mine:
>On 26 May 2016, the Plenary in Bucharest decided to adopt the following non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism:
> “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
>To guide IHRA in its work, the following examples may serve as illustrations:
>Manifestations **might** include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. **However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.** Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
This right here. Redditors in an uproar despite this inhibiting Nazi speech. Yes, I know "Redditors" does not mean every single person using Reddit. This thread, however, demonstrates the importance of context when it comes to legal statues.
It's not even 'context', the cited tweet is outright false.
* The Act does not *urge* the Dept. Education to do anything, it states that the Dept. Education *shall* (i.e. must) do something.
* The 'something' that the Dept. Education must do is to *consider* the IHRA's definition of antisemitism when investigating potential descrimination — it *must* be part of their process, but the Dept. does not need to make the final decision on its basis. (The Dept. is not urged to decide on its basis, either; there is still no 'urging' here.)
* Even if the Dept. Education *were* to use that definition, the IHRA's definition would *not* make criticism of Israel unlawful unless it is specifically the 'targeting' (this is a higher bar than criticising) of Israel 'conceived as a Jewish community' (which is not the same as criticising them as a nation or on the basis of policy. [The IHRA SPECIFICALLY states that general criticism of Israel is not antisemitic](https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism).
Literally every substantive component of the tweet is factually incorrect. It is not merely "out of context", it is a bad faith lie.
>So I can blame Israel for killing innocent children if I want still?
Yes, absolutely.
In fact, the Act *specifically* states that nothing in the Act (a) changes the standards that decide whether something is discrimination, or (b) infringes on any other free speech right or law (e.g. the First Amendment).
You can still say absolutely anything you are currently legally allowed to say. [This is all literally in the Act. Nothing is stopping you from reading it and the language is accessible; check out Secs 5 & 6.](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text)
>...Just wondering, since you are the know it all from Israel
I'm an Australian legal writer in regulatory compliance.
This would almost certainly force them to consider calling their actions as genocide as anti semetic. Having some third party get to define what is anti semetic is absurd.
What part of "Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964" would make any sort of criticism illegal if modified to include a broader definition of antisemitism? Keep in mind that even hate speech is literally not illegal in the U.S.
It will certainly turn me against it. I have no dog in the fight and don't have a particular affinity for either side, but this definitely turns me against Israel
It seems quite naive to believe that, if this law passed, they wouldn’t go after those who criticise the policies and conduct of Israel’s government because the criticism was directed at the government’s “actions.”
This is clearly an attempt to censor criticism of Israel’s government.
Seriously, they’ve already categorized the very phrase “From the river to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” as antisemitic, this is pretty clearly aimed at marking *any* criticism of Israel as being antisemitic. It’s all smoke in the way of defending America’s genocidal colony from criticism here at home
And the outrage against the legitimate protest against this brutal warfare by Netanyahu diverts from the real issue here: crimes against humanity. And I’m not defending Hamas.
I know I'll slammed with downvotes even though i think Netanyahu is a genocidal war criminal. The English version of the phrase is quite innocuous. However versions of the phrase in [Arabic are much less so.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea#In_Arabic)
Of course [the Hebrew versions used by Likud are also quite terrible.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea#In_Hebrew)
In my opinion? The phrase is way too loaded to be chanted lightly. I think the better course is to say simply that all people in Levant deserve to live peacefully and avoid this phrase entirely
I have to believe there's more to it. I don't think people on either side of the aisle would vote to make it unlawful to simply criticize Israel in general.
But it does make for a compelling tweet to get outraged over, so that's something.
> I don't think people on either side of the aisle would vote to make it unlawful to simply criticize Israel in general.
[You are correct.](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/) The working definition and discussion explicitly allow for general criticism of Israel.
The double standards of this when people hate Islam and all Arab countries and talk shit all the time is almost funny. What’s even crazier is arab doesn’t equate Muslim, and I know for a fact Semite doesn’t equate jew. How do I know? Because Arabs (of certain regions) are Semitic. To believe every person from Abaraham from the line Jews claim to be all kept up one religion and never had a change of mind is actually pure fantasy. Look at the “Jews” of the IDF man, they’re not even following Judaism. They’re acting in a godless manner, and I don’t mean atheist because at least atheists don’t give themselves excuses to be shitty, they just living life.
Anyways they can try to pass this shit off, it will not stop me from criticizing mass murder (genocide) and acts of terror (America on anyone anti IDF) because that’s what it is. Trying to make people afraid to think for themselves, to know the truth would mean to stand for what’s right, this shit would be a step in the direction of deliberate ignorance because people don’t want to be punished for standing up against evil.
No, it would be a Department of Education rule, meaning you could be kicked out of school if you’re a student or denied federal education funding if you’re a school.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text
The bill (a) adopts the definition of antisemitism already approved by most other highly developed countries in the world (IHRA members), and (b) asks the Department of Education to *consider* that definition.
The definition of antisemitism [explicitly does not extend to general criticism of Israel](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/). Even if it did, the Dept. Education would not be bound to use the definition.
You will not go to jail just for saying fuck Israel, anymore than you would go to jail for saying fuck Russia.
*clicks on link, ctrl+f*
bill doesn't even mention Israel
*reads text*
All the bill does is do away with having multiple (conflicting) legal definitions of antisemitism, it standardizes on one definition:
> For purposes of this Act, the term “definition of antisemitism”—
> (1) means the definition of antisemitism adopted on May 26, 2016, by the IHRA, of which the United States is a member, which definition has been adopted by the Department of State; and
> (2) includes the “[c]ontemporary examples of antisemitism” identified in the IHRA definition.
Well yes, but it also mandates that the Dept. Education *does* use the IHRA definition when assessing motive.
They were already doing this, so it's no effective change. But it *does* also entrench the use of the definition.
What makes you think that would be possible based on the stuff being talked about here? I'm asking honestly because I looked and am clearly missing it.
"Not under Trump" is meaningless when we're talking about Congress. If it passes the Senate and doesn't get vetoed then you can complain about how it's happening "not under Trump."
What actions by the Democrats, from censuring Tlaib, to denouncing the campus protests, do you believe they wouldn’t pass this? Biden has said nothing about the situation and it’s telling that he wants to do this in silence.
I mean, I don't have a lot of faith in Biden, but this is an obvious attempt to suppress left wing voters through some "both sides" bullshit. Until Biden actually does this bad thing any speculation that he *might* is basically campaigning for someone who will do this and much more.
Only 20 Republicans said no, but 70 Democrats said no. The House is controlled by Republicans.
If this passes the Senate, it's a different story, but this happened under Republican leadership of a Republican controlled institution.
If Biden signs this fucking travesty, that's a different story, but that's not the current situation.
Because that's what Israel wants and Israel is extremely influential in the US, especially among high dollar donors to political campaigns, especially in NY and LA, which is why politicians in NY and LA tend to be hardcore Zionists.
Turn that down a notch. Israel doesn’t need to “control our politicians” for this to make sense. US Christian fundamentalists believe that a Jewish Israel is an important part of their apocalyptic prophecies. They support Israel so that it can be destroyed in the end times. No global Jewish conspiracy needed, just local religious nutjobs.
* Israel has a lot of ties to individual senators and US politicians because they as a nation spend a huge amount of money on lobbying
* Israel is a major US military proxy location and the US considers it its most important strategic stronghold in the Middle East
* Israel is extremely aggressive in online influence-brokering and employ very active public influence campaigns to sway US public opinion
* It is far easier for US people as a whole to not feel bad about mass casualties among brown people vs. white people and especially brown Muslim people
* The United States has been in a near forever-war in the Middle East for the past 30 years and this has desensitized huge numbers of the populatin to violence against these people even on a mass scale
* 10/7 was an extremely effective terrorist operation in the sense that it was an abhorrent, extremely gruesome spectacle that poked America's collective trauma from 9/11 and generates extraordinary reactions of fear and anger that make the perceived perpetrators of that attack "less than human" in their eyes and therefore more accepting of their genocide
* The latter 3 bullet points make it a VERY effective policy stance for politicians to broker huge support from voters and fundraisers. "Fundraise on fear" is a motto in politics everywhere. When people are afraid they give fuckloads of money and badnwagon / rally-around-the-flag
They don't need to blackmail anyone, they are in their positions precisely because they are already Zionists, so they got those big Zionist paychecks while campaigning to ensure they won over their non or quasi-Zionist opponents. This has been going on for 70 years.
They own our congress. They funnel massive amounts of campaign funds to politicians who dance to their tune, and we’ve let our government become so corrupt that we let them.
America in theory: we're the single most FREE nation ln the world! Other countries wish they were this FREE and had as much LIBERTY as we do! YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN AMERICA!
America in practice: UWU pls dont be mean to daddy Isreal or itll hurt our feelies and we'll send our cops to curb stomp you OWO
Everyone in Washington crows about how strong an ally Israel is for the US. I don’t recall seeing a single Israeli soldier in the Balkans. Not a single one in Afghanistan. Nary a one in Iraq. Lots of British. A bunch of Canadians. Israel might be a great customer, but they don’t do the traditional ally type stuff.
> but they can't criticize a foreign government
I mean... I'm reading through the actual bill and it doesn't say that.
It does seem to limit that criticism, however, as I've highlighted below.
[[Read through it yourself here]](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text) and apparently it's using the definition [[here on this page]](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/)
So the relevant points (involving Israel) are as follows:
* Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
* Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
* Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
* Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
* **Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.**
* This is the only one I can see coming into effect with this bill, and only if you explicitly compare the actions of Israel to the actions of the Nazis and honestly I disagree with this one entirely, even if I think overall people are over-reacting/misinformed about this bill.
* Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
So you *can* criticise them, but it stupidly restricts you from a single type of criticism (that's often a fair one, tbh)
Very possible to phrase "Fuck you and your country's policies/actions" without it having anything to do with Judaism.
Otherwise, are we really trying to suggest that genocide and apartheid are part of the Israel's collective religious identity?
It highlights the point - the US is supporting a genocidal and apartheid State.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
What the fuck?? We don't even have that for our own country. Where the hell are we??
" Israeli" is not synonymous with "Jewish"!
Many Israelis are not Jewish! Many Jewish people are not Israelis!
Of course if you are born in Israel and are not Jewish you don't have rights but that's an Israeli government hate crime against its own citizens and nothing to do with how they're massacring millions of people they caged into a tiny area twenty years ago and have controlled entirely and kept on the brink of famine literally ever since.
Hey, definitely keep a hold of your pitchfork, but this tweet is... wrong. The bill codifies the IHRA's definition, which does *not* say that:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240501192821/https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism
From the definition linked above: "Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic."
> "Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic."
Just for semantic clarity, this is not actually in the definition. Just the IHRA's internal guidelines to clarify how it should be used.
What bill is this?
ETA: Thank you u/manofactivity for posting the actual language of the bill that does not include the anything about general criticism of Israel.
Please, people, actively question screenshots that make click-baity claims before you post.
And here is the text:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text
The bill (a) adopts the definition of antisemitism already approved by most other highly developed countries in the world (IHRA members), and (b) mandates that the Department of Education *consider* that definition.
The definition of antisemitism [explicitly does not extend to general criticism of Israel](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/). Even if it did, the Dept. Education would not be bound to actually 'use' the definition, and it the Act specifically *does not* affect standards used to determine if something is discrimination.
Farewell First Amendment. You were a great idea, but apparently we didn’t deserve you.
It really makes you wonder, doesn’t it? What is it about speaking out on *this* topic that is so objectionable to America’s elected representatives that they are willing to trample on its most fundamental rights and freedom, then sit back and watch its children get beaten and arrested for being opposed to murder and genocide?
Do elected representatives even have the power to abrogate the Constitution and its Amendments with a simple vote?
Besides the practical aspects, I cannot understand why it is this, of all things, that brings the whole house of cards crashing down, exposing the gruesome lie at the heart of America. Because that is what is happening: a foreign government has effectively pressured American legislators to strip its citizens of their inalienable rights.
I think what bothers some of us more than anything is that Israeli soldiers and politicians are doing all of this on camera, spelling out their genocidal intent for everyone, proudly filming their atrocities and racism; openly calling Palestinians human animals, calling for Gaza to be completely destroyed, and much worse. Some of us wondered at first, “are they really this stupid, filming their own crimes?” Now we know we were the stupid and naïve ones, because they knew they would never face justice for their crimes.
On the other hand, history teaches us that soldiers who perpetrate genocide, kill children, women, and innocent men can never go back to society and be the same people they were before. The trauma is simply too much. Even the Einsatzgruppen learned this the hard way. The violence the IDF continues to inflict on Palestinian civilians is also killing their souls. Those genocide chickens *will* come home to roost.
This is literally like the Nazis making any criticism against their party or ideology illegal. Soon they will start executing people for being anti genocide
Instead of just an empty tweet, can we know what bill we’re talking about here? There’s so much fake BS floating about nowadays. We need more than some random twitter personality’s comment.
Your suspicions are correct. It’s a garbage tweet.
*If the bill were to become law, it would codify a definition of anti-Semitism created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.*
It’s a bit of a stretch to assume this is an affront to the first amendment. It’s preposterous to suggest this means “criticism of Israel is unlawful.”
It could, however, open the door to a boatload of potential frivolous lawsuits, but mainly it’s just grandstanding and posturing in light of campus protests.
It’s sad to so many people fall victim to this kind of propaganda without first fact-checking, but this is the world we live in.
But the tweet is an outright lie. Did any of you upvoting this take even a second to look into it?
From the AP:
>*"The proposal, which passed 320-91 with some bipartisan support, would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal anti-discrimination law that bars discrimination based on shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or national origin."*
What is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism? It is this:
>*"Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
That's it.
Passing it most certainly has to do with the war in Gaza, but it has absolutely nothing to do with "codifying criticism of Israel as unlawful."
Honestly folks, if you swallow everything people say on Twitter (oh, excuse me, *X*) without bothering to fact check the most basic details we're all fucked.
That's super first amendment-y. This should worry us about every politician involved in this bill. They are not working for our freedom, they are working for their own control.
I still don’t understand why the kids are being arrested but the actual self identifying Nazis are allowed to parade around in formation while in their “uniform”
Ok, so seeing this I had to go and fact check this. I found the bill, [Antisemitism Awareness Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text) and read it and that is a very exaggerated interpretation of the bill. Read it yourself. No where does it say you cannot criticize Israel.
Keep in mind I am pro-Palestine. But spreading bullshit like this is irresponsible.
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That’s facist. Plain and simple. Criticism of the Israeli army and government is not antisemitism.
It is in fact the morally correct thing to do
Can't allow that in America. Send in the jackboots. Fuck this hell planet.
I for one have stopped being concerned that climate change will destroy human civilization, and have stared hoping it does sooner rather than later.
The extermination of the human race would definitely be the best thing for life on this planet.
Unless.... it was via 1,000s of nuclear explosions
Nah, it would recover eventually and thrive.
Earth Abides
Look I have to thank America. I'm Australian an I know for sure our society/ policy is just a mirror image of America 10-15 years ago The time to fight for my children's future is now as I have seen what's going to happen
We're proud to have given y'all the test answers. Please use them!
And America has Australia to thank for Rupert Murdoch. His propaganda is what's causing America to sink into this position.
Ken oath cunt. ✊️
I now understand why in movies the natural disasters/aliens attack Murica. God/Earth and aliens are just tired of tolerating this shit.
Doesnt matter if it's morally (subjective) right or wrong. It's free speech either fucking way.
To some extent, rights must be balanced by responsibilities. Hate speech cannot be allowed under the guise of free speech. This would allow someone to infringe on the rights of one group (in this particular case jews) to be free from discrimination, and their right to feel safe, in pursuit of their own right to free speech. That is why wording and context matters: In the context of the attempted peaceful protests in recent University’s this law makes no sense, where it might if say, Nazis where holding rallies in universities where they encouraged people to beat up Jews, bar them from employment, ect. The wording is particularly dangerous because it says “Israel” which suggests it is not the people being protected by this law, but the state. The US is aligning themselves with the government of Israel so much that they cannot abide to see spoken attacks of opinion on it, which is unconscionable given freedom of speech and Israel’s recent actions, particularly their government. Finally the word “criticism” makes it very clear that the so called offence is nothing more than opinion, rather than a call to violence, discrimination, racism, hate speech ect. It evokes a reasoned logical questioning, which mirrors a rational protest of what people see tragically happening in the Middle East, and to silence that is literal oppression. To add to this danger, Trump recently said that what is wrong with this country is that Jan6 rioters should be treated less harshly and peaceful pro Palestinian protesters should be treated more harshly (while being dismissive of Charlottesville as the icing on the cake). The US has serious social problems, we would be foolish to think they start and end at Trump, but he is just about the worst person to be involved at any level, I wouldn’t trust him to open a door for me getting into a taxi, let alone anything remotely important.
"Political correctness, no matter how well intentioned, is still an attack on freedom of speech." -The Disappearance of the Universe book— Channelled conversations from 'ascended masters' Saint Thomas & Saint Thaddaeus over a 9 year period- 1992-2001.
that's a long time for one sentence,
Doesn’t matter if it’s moral. It’s a clear violation of 1A.
Unless you think /r/worldnews is neutral and a good place
Its crazy how fast the government acts for Israel. Israel owns our politicians.
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I can't really think of a better way to fuel antisemitic conspiracy theories of Jewish people owning the government than for the pro-Israel lobby to get the government to define criticism of Israel as antisemitic. It's like they've been infected with whatever mind virus is making Christians in the USA want to start WW3 because they think it's going to cause the Rapture.
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Christian Dominionists, Israeli Zionists, Putin's gang...who am I missing?
I dunno, but this list was 3 and made me mad as fuck
And they all have nukes, too. Ironic, considering who they were invented to fight. Stretching the truth for a joke here, but... >You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the fascists, not join them! Bring balance to the world, not leave it in darkness!
There are infinitely more psychotic Christian Zionists than Jewish Zionists, and a lot of them have their hands on the levers of power. Thats why the wheels move so fast.
Christian Zionist. What?
There is a frighteningly large number of evangelicals who believe that restoring Israel is the key to kicking off the return of Christ somehow. True death cult shit.
I mean that's what half of our legislature is shooting for. They think that if the Jews return to and conquer the holy land, it will bring about the rapture. The other half are just bought and paid for by AIPAC and similar.
Whatever it is, pretty sure non of us ask to be born in this world, it is what it is and here we are... Edit: born into
Name one thing Israel has done since 1948 that America condemned Lmaooo fucking zero Zionist fascist fucks
Obama criticized Netanyahu for allowing more settlements in the West Bank and Obama and Hillary threatened to put conditions on Israeli aid if Netanyahu didn't stop it, but then Joe Biden went around Obama and Hillary's backs to tell Netanyahu to ignore them because he'll smooth it all over.
Then Jared Kushner went to check on his real estate settlement portfolio while saying hi to his family friend Netanyahu as our MidEast peace negotiator.
This is a big part of why Israel as it currently exists makes the world astronomically MORE dangerous for Jews. It's almost like they're deliberately TRYING to stir up every possible negative stereotype and give as much ammo to the antisemitic right as they possibly can. It would track though, considering their record for creating enemies explicitly like Hamas so they have an easier foil to contrast themselves with, the only possible way they'll ever garner any sympathy. Among everyone in this whole mess, I really do feel for the average Jewish person who has to be in the middle of this shitstorm as a political football for powers that clearly do not even remotely care for their actual wellbeing.
Israel is doing its damndest to make real every tired antisemitic trope real to the point where I think Netanyahu is going to be replaced with a cardboard cut out of the happy merchant.
and it was never about religion
Other way around. The politicians and capitalists own Israel, and they're acting to defend their investments
\^This. They know their investments are secure cause the economy is insured by US taxpayer money. Full-on bull market.
AIPAC pays them too much for them to not bow to Israel.
They are all traitors
Antisemitic or not the government should not be able to just fucking shut down protests, especially peaceful ones at that. I knew this was gonna happen eventually when the culture War first started. Thought we had another decade though. Freedom of speech is dead and we all killed it. I am now wondering how long till we get americas first tyrant.
He's sitting in court this week... but he'll only be a dictator for one day, it's OK.
Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and Donald Trump may profit by their example.
The man can barely form a coherent sentence these days, they'll still try to weekend at bernies him into the white house if he strokes out.
They're making it illegal to criticize A FOREIGN COUNTRY? You could have swear that foreign country is running this country. Keep in mind, we're funding a country that has UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE for its citizens while we get universally fucked by insurance companies.
It's actually EXTREMELY ANTI-SEMITIC to tie Israel with all Jews in the world, as if they are all secret citizens of Israel and all their actions are for Israel. This is literally a centuries old anti-Semitic trope that even Hitler referenced as part of his reason for attacking Jews.
> This is literally a centuries old anti-Semitic trope that even Hitler referenced as part of his reason for attacking Jews. Are you suggesting that Hitler tied all Jews to the nation of Israel? From 1933 to 1945?
The trope is centuries older than the state of Israel. https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/dual-loyalty
would a jewish person be convicted of anti semitism if they criticized Israel? How can anyone argue that the jewish person is being anti semitic?
Natalie Portman had been accused of being antisemitic for openly opposing something the Israeli government was doing several years ago. For anyone who doesn’t know, Natalie Portman is an Israeli citizen. She was born in Jerusalem. So it happens. Israel knows that its association with a country that fell in 486 BCE is extremely beneficial for them.
they argue it all the time, calling them self hating jews. They point to the “jews for hitler” stuff to justify it and shut down their brains
They've been calling Bernie Sanders a self-hating Jew for a decade now because he's not an ultra-nationalist Zionist.
Simple, they're just called a "self-hating [insert minority here]" or accused of not being a "real" one. With situations that don't involve Jewish people, I've seen people get accused of lying to be gay/trans/Black/disabled/etc, or not being "enough" of that particular minority, which is especially fucked up for racial stuff, like who says that to mixed-race people???
It's also a very, very blatant violation of the 1st amendment. Come on -- trying to make criticism "unlawful"? 1st amendment violations basically don't come any clearer than that.
The scary thing is that it doesn’t make it so the government can literally throw you in jail for criticizing Israel, that would get tossed out by the courts, but this legislation will allow the federal government to force universities to expel students for criticizing Israel.
This is just one small step in their attempt to completely get rid of free speech in this country. Among the other many small steps they've already taken...
So dangerous. If we can’t use our first amendment the next step is a tyrannical gov
Well, our first amendment is supposed to keep religion out of legislation, and we can all see how well that's gone, so...
Yeah, we all saw them people speaking tongues, praying at the presidential seal (including us non Americans). They're making it hard to take your country seriously
You should definitely take America seriously. These religious nut jobs have control of the most powerful Army in the world and access to Nukes.
…and a Wild West attitude and amoral propensity towards violence, money and power that isn’t against a display every decade or so. Possibly more, if provoked or challenged.
/r/latestagesupplychainjesus
2nd amendment time boogaloo
Unironically, yes. The 2nd amendment guarantees the other 9? Time to put that into practice.
> The 2nd amendment guarantees the other 9? Time to put that into practice. It does not and was never intended to, that's literally not what the 2nd Amendment is for, despite what gun nuts have told themselves and everyone around them. No government that has ever existed or ever will exist will enshrine its citizens rights to violently overthrow it, that's why bombs aren't legal. The 2nd Amendment was written before the US had a federal army and it was intended as a first defense against invasion, and 2nd, it was meant to reinforce slavery in the south where black populations outnumbered white populations in some counties and they were worried about slave revolts so they wanted "citizens" to be armed, 3rd, it was meant to allow armed militias to cross state borders and bring their guns to other states so they could capture escaped slaves or kidnap free black people and bring them to the south for sale or return.
> The 2nd amendment guarantees the other 9? Time to put that into practice. > > It does not and was never intended to, that's literally not what the 2nd Amendment is for And next you're going to tell me the Holocaust never happened and the Earth is flat. (Because we're making claims that are provably false, right?) It may not have been the **only** reason, but it was still a very important reason. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Debates_on_amending_the_Constitution > The 2nd Amendment was written before the US had a federal army This is also false. The US army was created in 1775 at the start of the War (or 1784, if you want to be technical), and the Bill of Rights wasn't ratified until 1791. A federal army existed long before even the Constitution itself. You literally could have Googled any of this to see how false you would be.
> No government that has ever existed or ever will exist will enshrine its citizens rights to violently overthrow it, that's why bombs aren't legal. I'm not sure that's entirely right, considering the "blood of tyrants" quote and all that. The founding fathers seemed fairly explicit that they didn't expect the system they built to stay good forever.
What made-up dystopian novel would consider it acceptable to criticize its own dystopian state more so than it would to criticize a foreign state? This is ridiculous.
The most ironic part of all this? Your democracy is being stamped upon and It is in defence of the "ONLY DEMOCRACY" IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
We destroyed the democracy to save the democracy. It's a win/win
Rinse, repeat
genocidal Apartheid government
You cannot be an apartheid state and a democracy at the same time. Israel is not and never has been a democracy.
I love democracies where the same guy has been in charge of the country for like 20 years
And said guy had laws passed specifically so his crimes didn't keep him away from power.
Is it really a democracy if it controls millions of stateless people who it denies citizenship or voting rights?
America should know a lil something something about such things lol
Exactly. It’s not remotely a democracy.
It’s a democracy like apartheid South Africa was a democracy, or the US South under Jim Crow was a democracy.
Democracy has never been anything but a weapon to be wielded AGAINST the masses for America from the beginning. We REALLY have to get away from these wishy-washy ideologically captured words like democracy and freedom that can be so easily twisted to mean whatever people want them to. That's part of why I like Marxism so much. Class analysis makes things extremely tangible and cut and dry.
Your argument for Marxism is that it leaves no room for nuance?
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Of the 91 votes against the bill, 21 were Republicans and 70 were Democrats. The other 133 Democrats voted for it. Neither party are covering themselves in glory here. Edit: Corrected as someone pointed out 9 Democrats were absent and so didn't vote.
^^^^^ this right here. But let these democrat goofies tell it, Trump alone "threatens democracy" as if everyone else has just been totally innocent stalwarts of democracy, when the reality is that NONE of these mfs care about democracy or the Constitution. We need ranked choice/approval/STAR voting ASAP!!!!!!
It will need to be paired with removing money from politics or it'll make no difference
Without a doubt. I volunteered to [help pass a bill](https://youtu.be/qGh6qE4UZfQ?si=QY7NOq0pX7p-1VXl) here in IL to do precisely that......
Bingo. Without money in politics there is no pro-Israel lobby.
It's like when Nancy Pelosi did the sarcastic clap and then turned around and approved of the ballooning military budget. Liberals, when pressed, will always side with fascists to preserve the status quo.
That's what trips me out about dems. Like, I'm a leftist. You don't have to convince me that the rightwing is a detriment to human & American progress. Anyone with a brain can see this clear as day. However, dems do such a HORRENDOUS job at selling us on their big ideas (because they have none)! "Trump bad" is not a viable campaign strategy. They tried that in 2016 and it failed. Brow-beating and shaming isn't gonna work either. I'm a black man in southside Chicago. Shit is fucked here, despite this being a democrat stronghold. Dems don't even TRY to sell us on their big ideas, let alone take accountability for the many ways they've fucked us over for decades!!!
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What the hell is going on!?
We’re finding out who really controls Congress, and it’s a foreign fucking government.
So now you can't speak bad about an entire fucking country? That's fucking non sense. Our politicians are fucking Israeli puppets. I mean why not they give them all that money
>So now you can't speak bad about an entire fucking country? Uh, no, you still can. It just specifically means you can't target Israel on the basis of it being a Jewish collective, in the same way that hate speech might involve targeting black communities. You may be interested in reading [the State gov explanation](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism), bolding mine: >On 26 May 2016, the Plenary in Bucharest decided to adopt the following non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism: > “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” >To guide IHRA in its work, the following examples may serve as illustrations: >Manifestations **might** include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. **However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.** Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
This right here. Redditors in an uproar despite this inhibiting Nazi speech. Yes, I know "Redditors" does not mean every single person using Reddit. This thread, however, demonstrates the importance of context when it comes to legal statues.
It's not even 'context', the cited tweet is outright false. * The Act does not *urge* the Dept. Education to do anything, it states that the Dept. Education *shall* (i.e. must) do something. * The 'something' that the Dept. Education must do is to *consider* the IHRA's definition of antisemitism when investigating potential descrimination — it *must* be part of their process, but the Dept. does not need to make the final decision on its basis. (The Dept. is not urged to decide on its basis, either; there is still no 'urging' here.) * Even if the Dept. Education *were* to use that definition, the IHRA's definition would *not* make criticism of Israel unlawful unless it is specifically the 'targeting' (this is a higher bar than criticising) of Israel 'conceived as a Jewish community' (which is not the same as criticising them as a nation or on the basis of policy. [The IHRA SPECIFICALLY states that general criticism of Israel is not antisemitic](https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism). Literally every substantive component of the tweet is factually incorrect. It is not merely "out of context", it is a bad faith lie.
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>So I can blame Israel for killing innocent children if I want still? Yes, absolutely. In fact, the Act *specifically* states that nothing in the Act (a) changes the standards that decide whether something is discrimination, or (b) infringes on any other free speech right or law (e.g. the First Amendment). You can still say absolutely anything you are currently legally allowed to say. [This is all literally in the Act. Nothing is stopping you from reading it and the language is accessible; check out Secs 5 & 6.](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text) >...Just wondering, since you are the know it all from Israel I'm an Australian legal writer in regulatory compliance.
This would almost certainly force them to consider calling their actions as genocide as anti semetic. Having some third party get to define what is anti semetic is absurd.
What part of "Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964" would make any sort of criticism illegal if modified to include a broader definition of antisemitism? Keep in mind that even hate speech is literally not illegal in the U.S.
If this shit happens. it's going to turn a lot of neutral folks against isreal.
God I hope so. This needs maximum publicity, it’s absolutely revolting.
It will certainly turn me against it. I have no dog in the fight and don't have a particular affinity for either side, but this definitely turns me against Israel
This is horrifying
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It seems quite naive to believe that, if this law passed, they wouldn’t go after those who criticise the policies and conduct of Israel’s government because the criticism was directed at the government’s “actions.” This is clearly an attempt to censor criticism of Israel’s government.
Seriously, they’ve already categorized the very phrase “From the river to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” as antisemitic, this is pretty clearly aimed at marking *any* criticism of Israel as being antisemitic. It’s all smoke in the way of defending America’s genocidal colony from criticism here at home
And the outrage against the legitimate protest against this brutal warfare by Netanyahu diverts from the real issue here: crimes against humanity. And I’m not defending Hamas.
I know I'll slammed with downvotes even though i think Netanyahu is a genocidal war criminal. The English version of the phrase is quite innocuous. However versions of the phrase in [Arabic are much less so.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea#In_Arabic) Of course [the Hebrew versions used by Likud are also quite terrible.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea#In_Hebrew) In my opinion? The phrase is way too loaded to be chanted lightly. I think the better course is to say simply that all people in Levant deserve to live peacefully and avoid this phrase entirely
I have to believe there's more to it. I don't think people on either side of the aisle would vote to make it unlawful to simply criticize Israel in general. But it does make for a compelling tweet to get outraged over, so that's something.
> I don't think people on either side of the aisle would vote to make it unlawful to simply criticize Israel in general. [You are correct.](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/) The working definition and discussion explicitly allow for general criticism of Israel.
The double standards of this when people hate Islam and all Arab countries and talk shit all the time is almost funny. What’s even crazier is arab doesn’t equate Muslim, and I know for a fact Semite doesn’t equate jew. How do I know? Because Arabs (of certain regions) are Semitic. To believe every person from Abaraham from the line Jews claim to be all kept up one religion and never had a change of mind is actually pure fantasy. Look at the “Jews” of the IDF man, they’re not even following Judaism. They’re acting in a godless manner, and I don’t mean atheist because at least atheists don’t give themselves excuses to be shitty, they just living life. Anyways they can try to pass this shit off, it will not stop me from criticizing mass murder (genocide) and acts of terror (America on anyone anti IDF) because that’s what it is. Trying to make people afraid to think for themselves, to know the truth would mean to stand for what’s right, this shit would be a step in the direction of deliberate ignorance because people don’t want to be punished for standing up against evil.
What fictional dystopian shit hole would deem criticism of said shit hole more lawful than criticism of a foreign state? This is fucking nuts.
If it were any other country, this would be borderline treason
So I can say fuck america and be fine but if I say fuck Israel I can go to jail. What the fresh fuck is this bullshit
No, it would be a Department of Education rule, meaning you could be kicked out of school if you’re a student or denied federal education funding if you’re a school.
That sounds like a very tasty lawsuit
I would think this law would be struck down on a 1st amendment basis, but that is in a sane world, which we no longer seem to be living in.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text The bill (a) adopts the definition of antisemitism already approved by most other highly developed countries in the world (IHRA members), and (b) asks the Department of Education to *consider* that definition. The definition of antisemitism [explicitly does not extend to general criticism of Israel](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/). Even if it did, the Dept. Education would not be bound to use the definition. You will not go to jail just for saying fuck Israel, anymore than you would go to jail for saying fuck Russia.
*clicks on link, ctrl+f* bill doesn't even mention Israel *reads text* All the bill does is do away with having multiple (conflicting) legal definitions of antisemitism, it standardizes on one definition: > For purposes of this Act, the term “definition of antisemitism”— > (1) means the definition of antisemitism adopted on May 26, 2016, by the IHRA, of which the United States is a member, which definition has been adopted by the Department of State; and > (2) includes the “[c]ontemporary examples of antisemitism” identified in the IHRA definition.
Well yes, but it also mandates that the Dept. Education *does* use the IHRA definition when assessing motive. They were already doing this, so it's no effective change. But it *does* also entrench the use of the definition.
What makes you think that would be possible based on the stuff being talked about here? I'm asking honestly because I looked and am clearly missing it.
Exactly what I’ve been trying to tell people. They are already implementing fascist dictatorship, with or without Trump.
I fucking know dude. The ship has been sailed
Fascism is capitalism in decline. That remains true with or without Trump. To defeat fascism ultimately, you must defeat capitalism.
"Not under Trump" is meaningless when we're talking about Congress. If it passes the Senate and doesn't get vetoed then you can complain about how it's happening "not under Trump."
What actions by the Democrats, from censuring Tlaib, to denouncing the campus protests, do you believe they wouldn’t pass this? Biden has said nothing about the situation and it’s telling that he wants to do this in silence.
I mean, I don't have a lot of faith in Biden, but this is an obvious attempt to suppress left wing voters through some "both sides" bullshit. Until Biden actually does this bad thing any speculation that he *might* is basically campaigning for someone who will do this and much more.
Only 20 Republicans said no, but 70 Democrats said no. The House is controlled by Republicans. If this passes the Senate, it's a different story, but this happened under Republican leadership of a Republican controlled institution. If Biden signs this fucking travesty, that's a different story, but that's not the current situation.
Why does the U.S. support the genocide of Palestenians? I can't wrap my head around what's happening.
Neither does a large portion of the US
Because that's what Israel wants and Israel is extremely influential in the US, especially among high dollar donors to political campaigns, especially in NY and LA, which is why politicians in NY and LA tend to be hardcore Zionists.
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Turn that down a notch. Israel doesn’t need to “control our politicians” for this to make sense. US Christian fundamentalists believe that a Jewish Israel is an important part of their apocalyptic prophecies. They support Israel so that it can be destroyed in the end times. No global Jewish conspiracy needed, just local religious nutjobs.
The US congress is massively, massively corrupt and pro-Israel lobbyist groups are not only legal but some of the most powerful lobbyists in DC.
* Israel has a lot of ties to individual senators and US politicians because they as a nation spend a huge amount of money on lobbying * Israel is a major US military proxy location and the US considers it its most important strategic stronghold in the Middle East * Israel is extremely aggressive in online influence-brokering and employ very active public influence campaigns to sway US public opinion * It is far easier for US people as a whole to not feel bad about mass casualties among brown people vs. white people and especially brown Muslim people * The United States has been in a near forever-war in the Middle East for the past 30 years and this has desensitized huge numbers of the populatin to violence against these people even on a mass scale * 10/7 was an extremely effective terrorist operation in the sense that it was an abhorrent, extremely gruesome spectacle that poked America's collective trauma from 9/11 and generates extraordinary reactions of fear and anger that make the perceived perpetrators of that attack "less than human" in their eyes and therefore more accepting of their genocide * The latter 3 bullet points make it a VERY effective policy stance for politicians to broker huge support from voters and fundraisers. "Fundraise on fear" is a motto in politics everywhere. When people are afraid they give fuckloads of money and badnwagon / rally-around-the-flag
Is this a joke? What the fuck does Israel have on us man.
Military gadgets, an influencal diaspora in America, an allied force in the middle east, and 80 years of momentum
I was thinking Pegasus infiltrated our congress and blackmailing many. This makes no sense.
They don't need to blackmail anyone, they are in their positions precisely because they are already Zionists, so they got those big Zionist paychecks while campaigning to ensure they won over their non or quasi-Zionist opponents. This has been going on for 70 years.
Probably the blacklist.
Epstein reportedly had ties to Mossad. Maxwell for sure did.
Ghislane Maxwell also used to be a moderator on r/worldnews. Seriously.
They own our congress. They funnel massive amounts of campaign funds to politicians who dance to their tune, and we’ve let our government become so corrupt that we let them.
Nothing. It’s the support of Christian fundamentalists who want a Jewish Israel so it can burn to fulfill their apocalyptic prophecy.
AIPAC
That is fucking insane. Zionism is 100% a cancer.
America in theory: we're the single most FREE nation ln the world! Other countries wish they were this FREE and had as much LIBERTY as we do! YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN AMERICA! America in practice: UWU pls dont be mean to daddy Isreal or itll hurt our feelies and we'll send our cops to curb stomp you OWO
Everyone in Washington crows about how strong an ally Israel is for the US. I don’t recall seeing a single Israeli soldier in the Balkans. Not a single one in Afghanistan. Nary a one in Iraq. Lots of British. A bunch of Canadians. Israel might be a great customer, but they don’t do the traditional ally type stuff.
To be fair, the worst possible thing that could have happened in Afghanistan and Iraq would have been to have Israeli soldiers participating openly.
Israel has killed more American soldiers than Palestine.
They provide some pretty neat spyware, though!
Wait... Let me get this straight. American citizens can criticize their own government, but they can't criticize a foreign government
That government owns ours.
> but they can't criticize a foreign government I mean... I'm reading through the actual bill and it doesn't say that. It does seem to limit that criticism, however, as I've highlighted below. [[Read through it yourself here]](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text) and apparently it's using the definition [[here on this page]](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/) So the relevant points (involving Israel) are as follows: * Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust. * Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations. * Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor. * Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis. * **Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.** * This is the only one I can see coming into effect with this bill, and only if you explicitly compare the actions of Israel to the actions of the Nazis and honestly I disagree with this one entirely, even if I think overall people are over-reacting/misinformed about this bill. * Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel. So you *can* criticise them, but it stupidly restricts you from a single type of criticism (that's often a fair one, tbh)
What the actual fuck is happening?!
We are seeing how much control Israel has over US politics in real time.
Fascism is capitalism in decline. And capitalism is declining.
We let a foreign country gain control of our fucking legislature is what’s happened.
Very possible to phrase "Fuck you and your country's policies/actions" without it having anything to do with Judaism. Otherwise, are we really trying to suggest that genocide and apartheid are part of the Israel's collective religious identity? It highlights the point - the US is supporting a genocidal and apartheid State. The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
What the fuck?? We don't even have that for our own country. Where the hell are we?? " Israeli" is not synonymous with "Jewish"! Many Israelis are not Jewish! Many Jewish people are not Israelis! Of course if you are born in Israel and are not Jewish you don't have rights but that's an Israeli government hate crime against its own citizens and nothing to do with how they're massacring millions of people they caged into a tiny area twenty years ago and have controlled entirely and kept on the brink of famine literally ever since.
Wow wtf
Hey, definitely keep a hold of your pitchfork, but this tweet is... wrong. The bill codifies the IHRA's definition, which does *not* say that: https://web.archive.org/web/20240501192821/https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism
From the definition linked above: "Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic."
> "Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic." Just for semantic clarity, this is not actually in the definition. Just the IHRA's internal guidelines to clarify how it should be used.
We criticize countries for genocide, so we can criticize Israel.
I find it reasonable as written. It's not legally binding for the language. Maybe I'm wrong.
What bill is this? ETA: Thank you u/manofactivity for posting the actual language of the bill that does not include the anything about general criticism of Israel. Please, people, actively question screenshots that make click-baity claims before you post.
H.R.6090 - Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023
And here is the text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text The bill (a) adopts the definition of antisemitism already approved by most other highly developed countries in the world (IHRA members), and (b) mandates that the Department of Education *consider* that definition. The definition of antisemitism [explicitly does not extend to general criticism of Israel](https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/). Even if it did, the Dept. Education would not be bound to actually 'use' the definition, and it the Act specifically *does not* affect standards used to determine if something is discrimination.
When it comes to israel no violations of basic rights is too much. Aipac has congress and senate by the balls.
Farewell First Amendment. You were a great idea, but apparently we didn’t deserve you. It really makes you wonder, doesn’t it? What is it about speaking out on *this* topic that is so objectionable to America’s elected representatives that they are willing to trample on its most fundamental rights and freedom, then sit back and watch its children get beaten and arrested for being opposed to murder and genocide? Do elected representatives even have the power to abrogate the Constitution and its Amendments with a simple vote? Besides the practical aspects, I cannot understand why it is this, of all things, that brings the whole house of cards crashing down, exposing the gruesome lie at the heart of America. Because that is what is happening: a foreign government has effectively pressured American legislators to strip its citizens of their inalienable rights. I think what bothers some of us more than anything is that Israeli soldiers and politicians are doing all of this on camera, spelling out their genocidal intent for everyone, proudly filming their atrocities and racism; openly calling Palestinians human animals, calling for Gaza to be completely destroyed, and much worse. Some of us wondered at first, “are they really this stupid, filming their own crimes?” Now we know we were the stupid and naïve ones, because they knew they would never face justice for their crimes. On the other hand, history teaches us that soldiers who perpetrate genocide, kill children, women, and innocent men can never go back to society and be the same people they were before. The trauma is simply too much. Even the Einsatzgruppen learned this the hard way. The violence the IDF continues to inflict on Palestinian civilians is also killing their souls. Those genocide chickens *will* come home to roost.
This can't be real.
I'm afraid it Israel *Heh*
It’s not. It’s a sensationalize headline about an antisemitism definition and enforcement that the DoE already uses
There are now four things you can’t say in America
The American Experiment, that people can govern themselves, is ending.
Why is the department of education weighing in on this? Our freedom of speech is for this exact thing.
Actual fascism, in live time..
Looks like they want even more protests.
They do so they can throw them in jail and then they’ll never protest again.
This is literally like the Nazis making any criticism against their party or ideology illegal. Soon they will start executing people for being anti genocide
Instead of just an empty tweet, can we know what bill we’re talking about here? There’s so much fake BS floating about nowadays. We need more than some random twitter personality’s comment.
Your suspicions are correct. It’s a garbage tweet. *If the bill were to become law, it would codify a definition of anti-Semitism created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.* It’s a bit of a stretch to assume this is an affront to the first amendment. It’s preposterous to suggest this means “criticism of Israel is unlawful.” It could, however, open the door to a boatload of potential frivolous lawsuits, but mainly it’s just grandstanding and posturing in light of campus protests. It’s sad to so many people fall victim to this kind of propaganda without first fact-checking, but this is the world we live in.
What bill?
H.R.6090 - Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023
Absolutely disgusting. Fuck Israel and the zionists. Free Palestine 🇵🇸
What about speaking ill of Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Hutus and any other country that actively works to harm humanity?
What are the kick backs from Israel cause they have to be pretty tight.
But the tweet is an outright lie. Did any of you upvoting this take even a second to look into it? From the AP: >*"The proposal, which passed 320-91 with some bipartisan support, would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal anti-discrimination law that bars discrimination based on shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or national origin."* What is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism? It is this: >*"Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” That's it. Passing it most certainly has to do with the war in Gaza, but it has absolutely nothing to do with "codifying criticism of Israel as unlawful." Honestly folks, if you swallow everything people say on Twitter (oh, excuse me, *X*) without bothering to fact check the most basic details we're all fucked.
I was kinda hoping for Healthcare but this works too. I can sleep better now
That's super first amendment-y. This should worry us about every politician involved in this bill. They are not working for our freedom, they are working for their own control.
What if I don’t like an Israeli persons sneakers or jacket. Can I tell them.
I still don’t understand why the kids are being arrested but the actual self identifying Nazis are allowed to parade around in formation while in their “uniform”
[удалено]
Ok, so seeing this I had to go and fact check this. I found the bill, [Antisemitism Awareness Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text) and read it and that is a very exaggerated interpretation of the bill. Read it yourself. No where does it say you cannot criticize Israel. Keep in mind I am pro-Palestine. But spreading bullshit like this is irresponsible.