A bill expanding the definition of antisemitism was passed on Wednesday by a bipartisan vote in the House but despite the legislation on its face claiming to help federal officials better protect Jewish students on school campuses, critics say it is misleading and will only serve to crack down on the free speech rights of students currently protesting Israels ongoing military offensive in Gaza and the U.S. governments continued support.

The House voted 320-91 in support of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, establishing a broader definition of antisemitism to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws. The bill would codify the intergovernmental International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances definition of antisemitism into the legal framework established by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or national origin.

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities, the IHRAs working definition of antisemitism , as adopted in 2016, reads.

Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity, the IHRA adds. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.

Seventy Democrats and 21 Republicans voted against the House bill, which now goes to the Senate. If passed and then signed into law by President Joe Biden , the bill would expand what counts as illegal ethnic discrimination to include anything covered by the IHRAs definition of antisemitism.

A sponsor of the bill, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), said in a statement Wednesday that the bill gives teeth to federal anti-discrimination laws to go after those who attack their Jewish peers.

Politics should never get in the way of the safety of the students, he said.

Kenneth Stern, the professor who drafted the IHRAs working definition of antisemitism, warned Congress in 2017 that if government bodies enshrine this definition into law, outside groups will try and suppress rather than answer political speech they dont like. The academy, Jewish students and faculty teaching about Jewish issues, will all suffer.