Why is the House focusing on antizionism while addressing antisemitism?
KCRW's Left, Right & Center
KCRW
4.2 • 4.8K Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2023
⏱️ 51 minutes
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Summary
A rise in antisemitism in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas caught the attention of the House of Representatives this past week. Members of the House held a hearing with college presidents addressing antisemitic incidents on campuses. They also passed a resolution condemning antisemitism, including antizionism. The vote split Democrats, who raised questions about the choice to equate antizionism with antisemitism. Did Congress take advantage of a tense political moment to play a game of “gotcha?” And why did those presidents (and some members of Congress) choose to tap dance around legitimate questions about this worrying trend?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everybody I'm David Green and welcome to left right and center. I'm here with our |
| 0:05.8 | regular crew Sarah Isger, she's senior editor at the dispatch. She is a lawyer. |
| 0:10.8 | She was the spokesperson at the Department of Justice under President Trump and |
| 0:14.0 | Moa Lathy, Executive Director at Georgetown University's Institute of |
| 0:17.2 | Politics and Public Service, was Communications Director for the DNC and also |
| 0:21.9 | advised Hillary Clinton and we're going to dig right in because |
| 0:25.8 | fighting in Gaza resumed this week after that temporary agreement allowed the exchange |
| 0:31.8 | of hostages between Israel and Hamas that that deal |
| 0:34.8 | ended with Israel alleging that Hamas violated the pause in fighting and we |
| 0:41.0 | should say that throughout this conflict, I mean we've seen heated arguments at our own dinner tables really. |
| 0:48.0 | We've seen strained friendships. We've seen hard conversations, including right here on this show. We've seen hard conversations including right here on this show. |
| 0:53.6 | We've seen protests that have erupted across the United States from campus squares to city centers and |
| 0:59.6 | also on Capitol Hill. |
| 1:01.3 | Protesters have been marching for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as well as for Palestine's |
| 1:07.0 | right to exist and arguing against Zionism, which is the ideology affirming the Jewish people's right to self-determination and a Jewish state. |
| 1:16.0 | Protests on college campuses and a rise in anti-Semitic incidents were much of the focus on Capitol Hill over this past week and that's where we want to zoom in a bit here that the House passed legislation |
| 1:30.2 | condemning the drastic rise of anti-Semitism globally and here in the US. This |
| 1:35.8 | measure passed by a vote of 311 to 14. Many lawmakers just voted present and that really highlighted a divide among |
| 1:46.1 | House Democrats while condemning anti-Semitism some Democrats saw a line in |
| 1:52.3 | this measure stating that anti-Zionism was in line with anti-Semitism. |
| 1:58.3 | They saw that as a step too far. |
| 2:00.6 | And Mo Sarah, this is where I want to start. I mean, lawmakers spend a lot of time talking |
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