The US House of Representatives voted to strongly condemn national and global antisemitism, inflamed as it has been by the 24/7 genocide being conducted in Gaza by the IDF and the US Pentagon.
On December 5th, the 118th Congress passed House Resolution 894.
In their virtue-signaling hurry, the House left a few things out, starting with a definition of the term Semite. Webster has that definition, and it certainly should have been spelled out for Congress.
The first “Whereas” was inadvertently left out. Here it is:
Whereas a Semite, is “a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs; a descendant of these peoples, and/or a member of a modern people speaking a Semitic language.
The Resolution includes as the second original Whereas a reference to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of the word antisemitism, which is hatred of Jews. However, tracking back to the Alliance’s website, we find that, in the rush to pass this Resolution, a certain inaccuracy was communicated. In the name of accuracy, the original second Whereas must be rewritten as follows:
Whereas the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s [non-legally binding] working definition of antisemitism is widely accepted and serves as a critical tool to help individuals comprehend and identify the various manifestations of antisemitism;
It is not unusual for Congress to enter information into the record that is wrong, untrue, or misleading. In fact, some would suggest that this is precisely and primarily the function of Congress. Right, Liz? No doubt the Warren Commission or the 9-11 Commission could equally defend this most valuable function of our government, that of ordering our illusions to ensure our obedience. But in authorizing, in the Congressional Record, that which was clearly intended NOT to be legally binding, one wonders if Congress is filled with idiots instead of lawyers.
The third Whereas is missing at least one phrase, corrected as follows:
Whereas, since the massacre of innocent Israelis by Hamas [an Israeli partner] and Iran-backed terrorist organization, on October 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault in the United States have spiked 388 percent over the same period last year, according to reports from the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism;
The 388% increase in antisemitic incidents cited in the Resolution is based on 312 reported US incidents in the first three weeks after the Hamas attacks, and Israel’s response in Gaza. Several of these 312 incidents are specifically quoted in the subsequent Whereas’s, and frankly with such a small number for a country of over 335 million residents, including one new international migrant every 22 seconds, all 312 reports probably should have been included.
Unfortunately, another error by omission accidentally occurred in the drafting of this Resolution. Here is the uncorrected version:
Whereas the slogan ‘‘From the River to the Sea,’’ which is a rallying cry for the eradication of the State of Israel and the Jewish people, has been used by anti-Israel protesters in the United States and globally;
The challenge is in trying to understand for whom this slogan rallies, and we cannot know unless we know the rest of the phrase, which is either 1) “Palestine will be free,” or 2) “there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” Curiously, both of our choices are slogan-like and jingoistic only in English, neither rhyme in Arabic or Hebrew. HR 894, as written, seems to be a vehicle for a circular firing squad to eliminate the use of an English rhyme translated from other languages, in both versions, specifically to politically manipulate English speakers, for opposing purposes.
Even for Congress, this is extraordinarily crass. Or maybe it’s a trial balloon for a future “USA Freedom Under Privation or Loss Eventuality Act.” The FU PrOLE Act no doubt is already drafted, awaiting that very special future day when every welfare and social security check bounces at the same time.
To correct this, we simply include the full “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” as the verboten slogan, and leave it there. Congress should not mention the original Likud Party platform slogan, despite its salience to every vote they make relating to the Middle East, and every UNSC veto on behalf of Israel’s government. Our bought and paid for Congress should be proud to affirm that, despite 40 years of State Department “work” on a two-state solution, no American Congressional majority has ever had the slightest intention of anything but disappearing the Palestinian population.
The last major error in the Resolution is the conflation of two very different “anti’s.” Being opposed to (or supportive of) Zionism and its advocates, and being opposed to (or supportive of) Judaism and its adherents are very different concepts. This error was pointed out by several New York Congressmen, who agreed, “H. Res. 894 does not account for the complexity of Judaism itself and ignores nuanced examples such as the Satmar sect, a Hasidic Jewish movement, which remains staunchly anti-Zionist and quite obviously is not antisemitic.”
However, the Resolution did pass, including “Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
…..clearly and firmly states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism;…”
This last one is easy. Delete. The direct and provable falsity of this statement harms the Resolution’s intent, diminishes its seriousness, and proves its Congressional supporters to be both liars and morons.
There, fixed it for you.
Any one of us could look at anything the Congress does or signs on to – from approving the most obscure holiday or week of recognition, to subsidizing the wealthy and the poor, to regulating, taxing and banning their donors’ competition, to funding and fomenting coups and wars around the world, to investigating itself – and find fault and errors, mistakes, corruption, grift and graft, stupidity and evasion of responsibility.
H.L. Mencken nailed it. Today, a few hundred million Americans increasingly want – and are not getting – peace and prosperity at home and abroad. Mencken, who died in 1956 an iconoclast, today channels the American majority. Once a wry observation of the capitol city, it should be a wake-up call to Washington that “Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.”
