PoliticsNo date set for committee vote on bill Senate committee approves amendment to Antisemitism Awareness Act stating criticism of Israeli government isn’t antisemitic Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed the amendment as well as two others. By Grace Gilson May 1, 2025, 8:49 am U.S. politician Bernie Sanders at the launch of his book "It's Okay to Be Angry at Capitalism" at the House of World Cultures in Berlin, Oct. 12, 2023. (Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images) U.S. politician Bernie Sanders at the launch of his book "It's Okay to Be Angry at Capitalism" at the House of World Cultures in Berlin, Oct. 12, 2023. (Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images) (JTA) — An amendment saying that criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitic was added to the Antisemitism Awareness Act today in a Senate committee hearing. The amendment was proposed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Jewish progressive leader, and approved in a 12-11 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The committee adjourned before voting on the bill itself and another piece of legislation, the Protecting Students on Campus Act, which would require schools to share information about how students can file civil rights complaints through the Department of Education. Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFree Sign Up A date for the committee vote has not yet been announced. If passed by the HELP committee, the bill will move onto the Senate floor for a final vote. Sanders’ was one of seven amendments to be added to the bill, which would codify a widely adopted and controversial definition of antisemitism into U.S. law. That definition, by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, has been adopted by hundreds of governmental bodies and other entities but drawn criticism from the left because it defines some criticism of Israel as antisemitic. “One can criticize the government of Israel for their policies without being antisemitic,” said Sanders, the committee’s ranking member, during the hearing. “This amendment makes it clear that it is not antisemitic to oppose the Netanyahu-led war effort that has killed more than 50,000 people and wounded over 116,000, 60% of whom are women, children and the elderly.” All committee Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, voted for Sanders’ amendment. Those opposed said that the amendment and others acted as a poison pill. “Supporting these amendments is an effort to kill this bill, which protects Jewish students from antisemitic acts,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the committee, during the meeting. “The bill includes protections for free speech, so let’s not be naive as to what’s taking place here.” In response, Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said, “Antisemitism is wrong. Authoritarianism is not the answer. That’s what we’re debating right now.” The Antisemitism Awareness Act was passed by the House last year but stalled in the Senate over concerns that it could punish political speech against Israel. Some Republicans, including Paul, have also criticized the IHRA definition because it identifies the belief that Jews killed Jesus as antisemitic. “This bill would subject to punishment speech claiming that Jews killed Jesus,” Paul said at the hearing. He called the deicide charge “an absurd and insulting insinuation, if the argument is that all Jews are responsible for killing Jesus,” but added, “and yet, the Gospel of John describes the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. It reports Jews present at the trial, including the high priest and crowd called for his crucifixion.” He continued, “Nobody thinks that’s all Jews, but you’re no longer allowed to read John 18 and 19. This is sort of insane.” Paul also said he opposed the bill over a litany of other concerns including fears that it would target comedians. He invoked Jerry Seinfeld as an example. “Have you guys ever listened to comedy? Do you know why Jerry Seinfeld won’t go to colleges because he can’t make any Jew jokes anymore, or Indian jokes, or whatever jokes. Jokes are about silly categorizations of people,” said Rand. He entered into the record a list of the names of 400 Jewish American comedians who he said have referred to Jews in stereotypical language, and who he says may be targeted by the bill. Two other Sanders amendments were also approved by the committee, including one that states the federal government cannot compel schools to violate the First Amendment rights of a student or professor. The measure could impact the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activists. “We have already seen attack after attack on freedom of speech and right to dissent. This amendment defends the Constitution of the United States and our First Amendment,” said Sanders. It passed in a vote of 13-10, with all Democrats as well as Paul and Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, voting in favor. Another Sanders amendment provided protection to students distributing written materials on campus, carrying out school-sanctioned protests, and engaging in “any speech that does not include true threats or incitement of violence,,” according to Jewish Insider. It was approved by all committee democrats along with Paul and Collins. A fourth amendment to the bill was proposed by Markey which opposed the Trump administration’s recent student visa revocations, as well as detainments and deportations of students and faculty at universities for activities protected under the First Amendment. It was approved by affirmative votes from all Democrats and Paul. PJC
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AntisemitismCanada In 2026, Tulsa And Panama Are Courting Canadian Jews As Antisemitism Redefines The Cost Of Staying As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels across Canada, Jewish families and professionals are quietly reassessing their futures, and some are being actively courted elsewhere. Ron East By: Ron East December 31, 2025 SHARE A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options as antisemitism intensifies and confidence in public protection erodes. (Image: Illustration.) TORONTO — For generations, Canada sold itself as a country where Jews could thrive without constantly looking over their shoulders. That assumption no longer holds for a growing number of Canadian Jews, particularly in the aftermath of October 7 and the months that followed. What has changed is not only the number of antisemitic incidents. It is the atmosphere. Public hostility has been normalized. Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centres operate under permanent security protocols. Anti-Jewish intimidation is increasingly framed as political expression. Enforcement is inconsistent. Accountability is rare. When Jewish life requires constant risk assessment, mobility stops being a luxury. It becomes a rational act of self-preservation. That reality helps explain why, in 2026, two very different destinations, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Panama, are appearing with growing frequency in serious conversations among Canadian Jews who have the means and flexibility to move. This is not a panic migration. It is a strategic recalculation. Canada’s new warning lights Jewish Canadians represent a small fraction of the population, yet account for a vastly disproportionate share of reported hate crimes. This is not a perception problem. It is a documented pattern. More troubling than the statistics themselves is the message many Jews hear in response: concern, sympathy, and context, but little deterrence. Protests that spill into harassment are tolerated. Jewish institutions are targeted repeatedly. Antisemitism disguised as antizionism is parsed endlessly rather than confronted directly. The result is a slow erosion of confidence in the state’s willingness or ability to enforce equal protection. When a community moves from assuming it belongs to hoping nothing happens today, the social contract has already been fractured. It is within this context that Tulsa and Panama are not merely attracting attention but actively courting. Lech Le’Tulsa and intentional Jewish welcome Tulsa is not presenting itself as a refuge city. It is presenting itself as a place that wants Jewish life to grow. In 2026, that effort has taken concrete form through Lech Le’Tulsa, a Jewish-focused relocation initiative designed to attract Jewish families, professionals, and entrepreneurs to the Tulsa area. The program combines relocation assistance with intentional community building and access to Jewish infrastructure. The name is deliberate. Lech Lecha, the biblical call to go forth and build a future, is not branding by accident. It speaks directly to a Jewish historical instinct that understands movement not as retreat, but as agency. Lech Le’Tulsa offers what many Canadian Jews increasingly feel is missing at home: A clear signal that Jewish presence is welcomed, not merely accommodated Immediate access to synagogues, schools, and Jewish communal life A civic environment where Jewish identity is not treated as a liability The financial incentives matter, but the social architecture matters more. Tulsa is offering a landing ramp. It is saying, we are prepared for you to arrive. That clarity stands in stark contrast to the ambiguity Canadian Jews experience when their safety concerns are acknowledged but endlessly deferred. Panama and the appeal of optionality Panama represents a different but equally rational response to insecurity. For Canadian Jews with international mobility, Panama offers residency pathways tied to investment, business activity, or long-term economic contribution. It also offers something increasingly valuable: optionality. Panama has an established Jewish community, a comparatively lower cost of living, and an immigration framework that openly courts skilled and capital-carrying residents. For some, it is a permanent relocation. For others, it is a second base, a contingency plan, or a future passport pathway. What matters is not the destination itself, but the logic behind the choice. When Jews seek second options, they are not rejecting diaspora life. They are applying historical lessons. Jewish continuity has always depended on redundancy, resilience, and the ability to move before crisis becomes catastrophe. The Zionist lens Canadians prefer to ignore Zionism does not deny the legitimacy of diaspora life. It insists that Jews must never be dependent on the goodwill of others for safety or equality. That lesson was written in blood long before the modern State of Israel existed. Israel institutionalized it at a national level. Individual Jews apply it on a personal level. When Canadian Jews explore Tulsa or Panama, they are not abandoning Canada in anger. They are responding rationally to warning signs. They are building leverage. They are ensuring their children have options. This is what Zionist consciousness looks like outside Israel. It is quiet, pragmatic, and unsentimental. An indictment Canada should take seriously Tulsa and Panama are not superior societies. They are intentional ones. Tulsa is saying, we want contributors, and we are prepared to integrate them. Panama is saying, we want residents and investment, and we have clear legal pathways. Canada, too often, is saying something else entirely: we are sorry you feel unsafe, but the politics are complicated. A serious country does not treat antisemitism as a public relations challenge. It treats it as a threat to civic order. That requires enforcement, deterrence, and moral clarity, including the willingness to name antisemitism even when it hides behind fashionable political language. Until that happens, Canada should not be surprised when Jews quietly explore exit ramps. The bottom line In 2026, the fact that Tulsa and Panama can plausibly court Canadian Jews is not an oddity. It is a warning. When antisemitism reaches levels that fundamentally alter how Jews calculate their futures, movement becomes strategy. History teaches Jews to act before apologies arrive too late. Canada still has time to reverse this trajectory. But time matters. And Jews, having learned this lesson repeatedly, are no longer inclined to wait.
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