The Antisemitism Awareness Act passed by the House earlier this week would create a standard definition of antisemitism to guide federal policy-making in combatting hate speech. It was controversial mostly because it was so clearly aimed at pro-Palestinian protesters who aren’t necessarily guilty of antisemitism, and because it was transparently designed to divide Democrats, many of whom backed an alternative bill with similar purposes.
But two well-known MAGA Republicans, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, opposed the bill on grounds that it would condemn Christian teachings about Jews:
Antisemitism is wrong, but I will not be voting for the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (H.R. 6090) today that could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene???????? (@RepMTG) May 1, 2024
Read the bill text and… pic.twitter.com/Y0eeOiVfnw
This evening, I will vote AGAINST the ridiculous hate speech bill called the “Antisemitism Awareness Act.”
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 1, 2024
Antisemitism is wrong, but this legislation is written without regard for the Constitution, common sense, or even the common understanding of the meaning of words. The… pic.twitter.com/HYg2LJDLAI
Both Greene and Gaetz object to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which is incorporated by the bill, because it labels “claims of Jews killing Jesus” as “classic antisemitism.” They differ in that Greene misreads the New Testament Gospels as asserting that Jews (rather than the actual perpetrators, the Romans, who had a monopoly on capital punishment at that time and place) actually crucified Christ. Gaetz quotes three non-Gospel passages attributing significant responsibility for the crucifixion to Jews without any specificity. Neither of these lawmakers seem to be aware that they are not only perpetuating the deadliest smear of Jews in human history, the source of constant pogroms and acts of discrimination, but also identifying their fellow Christians with antisemitic beliefs they largely don’t share and have in recent years been struggling to repudiate.
The doctrine of collective Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion (which is what the IHRA definition is clearly talking about) was indeed a tenet of the Roman Catholic Church for many centuries, which is why it was a giant step forward for Christian-Jewish relations when it was very clearly repudiated by the Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI in 1965. Subsequent popes have been about as clear as possible on this subject, notably the very conservative John Paul II and Benedict XVI; the latter very specifically denied there was any basis in scripture for the argument that the Jewish people were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.
Protestants like MTG and Gaetz have traditionally been less inclined to blame Jews for the crucifixion. Even the famously antisemitic Martin Luther based his lethal views not on collective responsibility for the crucifixion but on his determination to impose Christianity on the Jews of his own time. Most Protestants now accept the twin propositions that the crucifixion was the will of God and that to the extent human beings were responsible, their sinful natures made guilt universal.
So Greene and Gaetz would be well advised to condemn the “classic antisemitism” of belief in Jewish responsibility for Christ’s death instead of insisting it’s an essential doctrine of Christianity.
