Friday, March 08, 2019

House Passes Resolution Condemning Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Other Bigotry

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 407-23 passed House Resolution 183 (full text) condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against other minorities as contrary to the values that define the people of the United States. New York Times reports on the complicated history of the 7-page resolution, saying in part:
It started as a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Then, anti-Muslim bias was added in. After that came white supremacy. And by the end, it cited “African-Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants and others” victimized by bigotry.
The resolution condemning “hateful expressions of intolerance,” which passed the House by an overwhelming 407-to-23 vote Thursday afternoon, was as much a statement of Democrats’ values as their factionalism. Caught in the middle was Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who worked for days to quell the internal uproar that erupted after a freshman Democrat, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, insinuated that backers of Israel exhibit dual loyalty....
Republicans mocked its all-inclusive approach....  Some veteran Jewish Democrats, who had pushed for a measure that would solely condemn anti-Semitism, were equally dismayed.