Bernie Sanders blocks Antisemitism Bill, Defends Anti-Israel speech in Senate showdown

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), long criticized for his anti-Israel rhetoric, has once again derailed efforts to combat the rampant antisemitism spreading across American college campuses. During a heated Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee meeting on Wednesday, Sanders successfully advanced an amendment to the Antisemitism Awareness Act, explicitly protecting speech that criticizes Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Sanders, applauding the move, declared, “In America, you are not supposed to end up in a jail cell for expressing your opinion.” His amendment asserts that condemning the “devastation of Gaza” cannot be labeled antisemitic, a statement many see as a dangerous loophole allowing veiled antisemitism to flourish under the guise of political protest.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act, which passed the House last year with overwhelming bipartisan support, was designed to provide much-needed protections for Jewish students facing harassment. Yet Sanders and Senate Democrats, alongside Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), maneuvered to weaken the bill. Paul, joining Sanders, expressed additional concerns about religious speech being penalized and even entered into the record a bizarre list of 400 Jewish comedians he claimed might be targeted under the bill.

Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) openly accused Sanders and the Democrats of employing procedural tricks to sabotage the legislation. “Supporting these amendments is an effort to kill this bill, which protects Jewish students from antisemitic acts,” Cassidy said, emphasizing that the bill already included provisions safeguarding free speech.

Jewish advocacy groups swiftly condemned Sanders’ amendment. AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann stated the measure “significantly undermined the purpose of the legislation” and expressed deep disappointment in the committee’s failure to advance the bill. Despite Cassidy’s attempts to push for a final vote, the session expired before all Republican members could return, and Democrats refused to extend the debate.

After the session, Cassidy remarked, “They don’t care if Jewish students are harassed on college campuses.” He vowed to continue fighting for the bill but admitted Sanders’ amendments created formidable obstacles.