South Lake Today

Washington, D.C. — Florida Congressman Daniel Webster, R-Clermont, today voted to pass H.R. 6090, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023, to help ensure the U.S. Department of Education is taking action to hold higher education institutions who fail to uphold law, order, academic integrity, and moral decency accountable. Congressman Webster expressed his concerns by stating, "The behavior we’re seeing from antisemitic mobs threatening the safety of Jewish students on colleges and universities is unconscionable. There is no excuse for college leaders failing to act and stop these antisemitic encampments on college campuses. This bill ensures that USDOE is holding colleges accountable for the safety of their students, while providing clarity between what is free speech and what is antisemitic discrimination and harassment."

H.R.6090 requires U.S. Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. The IHRA definitions have been adopted by more than half of the states, as well as the U.S. Department of State, as a vital tool for identifying and addressing conduct that is discriminatory and motivated by antisemitism.