The following are excerpts of remarks by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, during today’s debate on the House Floor on the Antisemitism Awareness Act (HR 6090)—legislation aimed at combating antisemitism on college campuses:

            “Forty-two years ago, my first human rights trip as a congressman was to the Soviet Union to defend Jews against pernicious antisemitism.

            I never thought, however, that the antisemitic hate I saw in Moscow and Leningrad could ever happen here.

            But it has. And it’s escalating.

            The bigotry, intolerance, prejudice—the unbridled hatred for Jews and the nation of Israel—exploding on American college campuses today is absolutely disgraceful.

            It is morally impermissible—and illegal—that Jewish students are the targets of antisemitic hate and violence. 

            In both word and deed, Hamas is a terrorist organization that commits mass murder of Jews and seeks the evisceration of Israel.

            Don’t believe it? Remember the horrific violence of October 7^th and the ongoing ordeal of the hostages. Or just read the Hamas Charter of 1988, the blueprint for genocide against the Jews—a modern-day Nazi-like final solution.

            As co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting Antisemitism, I want to thank my good friends and colleagues Mike Lawler and Josh Gottheimer for authoring the Antisemitism Awareness Act. 

            This important legislation will codify the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism into Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark anti-discrimination law. Schools that receive federal funds must comply with Title VI, and this bill will clarify that the Hamas hatred infecting our campuses must be dealt with as antisemitic discrimination that violates civil rights.

            Special thanks to the police, who at great risk to their own personal safety, are trying to mitigate the threats to Jewish students.”

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