The House passed a resolution on Wednesday condemning the rise of antisemitism in a nearly unanimous vote, with one Republican lawmaker objecting to the measure.
The resolution passed 420-1, with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) representing the only vote against it. Eight other Republicans did not vote.
The Hill reached out to Massie for comment on his vote.
The resolution calls on elected officials, faith leaders and leaders in civil society to use their positions of authority “to condemn and combat any and all manifestations of antisemitism.”
The measure also urges individuals to denounce denials or distortions of the Holocaust, and encourages them to promote education focused on the Holocaust and antisemitism.
“Tragically, antisemitism followed Jewish Americans from the old world to the new one, and its become a growing cancer on our body politic,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said from the House floor on Wednesday.
“Too many Americans need to hear the loud voices of their Congress calling out antisemitism. Because too many of our fellow citizens are hearing leaders they support and trust either give voice to antisemitism or rationalize antisemitism,” he added.
The resolution comes after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported last month that antisemitic incidents in the U.S. hit a record high in 2021. In its annual audit, the group said it counted 2,717 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. last year, including harassment and vandalism.
That number marked the highest the organization has recorded since it started tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. The resolution cited the ADL’s report.
The measure comes during Jewish American Heritage Month. It was also passed days after a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 10 individuals. Thirteen people were shot, 11 of whom were Black.
The suspected shooter — 18-year-old Payton Gendron of Conklin, N.Y. — allegedly espoused the “great replacement” theory, which is a baseless, racist theory that an increasing number of minorities and immigrants are intentionally overrunning white Americans.
According to the ADL, the theory is now associated with antisemitism because many white supremacists in the U.S. say Jews are responsible for non-white immigration to America.
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One GOP lawmaker in the House voted against the measure condemning antisemitism. https://t.co/RTobqDlsYZ pic.twitter.com/aeHBmSm1ZX
— The Hill (@thehill) May 19, 2022
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