News / Human Rights

US Muslims: House’s bill on criminalization of anti-Israel speech to ‘suppress and silence’ free speech

Thursday, 02 May 2024 10:28 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 02 May 2024 10:28 AM ]

US police arrest people during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the City College Of New York in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States has censured the House of Representatives for approving a controversial bill that criminalizes any criticism of Israel.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the so-called Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 is a “one-sided, and dishonest” document that ignores anti-Palestinian racism.

The House approved the bipartisan legislation, introduced by New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler, in a 320-91 vote and sent it to the Senate for consideration.

The vote took place amid US police brutality against pro-Palestinian protesters on dozens of college campuses that has resulted in the arrest of hundreds of students.

The demonstrators have been demanding an end to Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and US military assistance for the regime, as well as American universities’ divestment from companies profiting from the aggression.

“The push to adopt this Act was motivated by an anti-Palestinian bias aimed at stifling young student voices advocating for Palestinian human rights, especially following Israel’s genocidal invasion of Gaza,” CAIR said.

It also called on the Senate “to reject this misleadingly-titled act, protect the free speech rights of student protesters, and start addressing the interrelated realities of rising antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim discrimination on college campuses. Misleading definitions like these are being weaponized right now to suppress and silence” student-led protests against Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

US police resort to tear gas, rubber bullets as anti-Israel protests rock university campuses

The US police have used tear gas and rubber bullets as anti-Israel protests are further spreading across university campuses in the country.

The group further urged the Congress to prioritize supporting an immediate and permanent Gaza ceasefire and address “Israel’s ongoing occupation and apartheid policies” as the root cause of the turmoil gripping West Asia.

“This approach is preferable to targeting and smearing college student activists,” it added.

Israel waged the Gaza onslaught on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 34,568 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 77,765 others.

Since the start of the aggression, the US, Israel's most dedicated ally, has fast-tracked arms shipments to the regime and blocked UN resolutions that called for a Gaza truce.

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