Free Speech Concerns As US Congress Passes Anti-Semitism Bill Amid College Protests Against Israel

The US House of Representatives passed a bill which its authors claim is aimed at combating anti-Semitism in American universities. The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act will empower the US Department of Education to crack down on anti-semitism on college campuses. The bill, if signed into law, will enforce the IHRA’s working definition of anti-semitism when enforcing anti-discrimination laws in the US. The move came as colleges across the US have been rocked by massive protests demanding an end to Israel’s war. US President Joe Biden and Israeli PM Netanyahu have both criticised the protests as “anti-semitic.”