Defining Antisemitism or Activism?: An Analysis of Congressional Debate Over the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023

Introduced amid widespread campus protests against the Israeli militarys actions in the Gaza Strip, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (AAA) directs the Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism during investigations of potential discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This study investigates congressional debate on the AAA using the Discourse Historical Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis to assess how members of Congress portray the victims and perpetrators of antisemitism and whether these portrayals align with the stated aim to "improve safety and security for Jewish Communities." Findings reveal that proponents of the bill construct a stark binary: pro-Israel Jewish activists are portrayed as passive victims, while pro-Palestine protesters are framed as violent, Hamas-sympathizing aggressors. Using a variety of discursive strategies, supporters of the bill justify punitive measures like visa revocations and funding cuts for universities. Opponents of the bill, meanwhile, warn that the IHRA definition's conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism risks chilling free speech and erasing non-Zionist Jewish voices. By privileging Zionist interpretations of Jewish identity and sidelining Palestinian solidarity (including by Jewish groups), the AAA politicizes antisemitism while undermining academic freedom and First Amendment rights. Ultimately, the AAA's reliance on the IHRA definition reflects a broader effort to institutionalize pro-Israel narratives under the guise of combating hate.