HR 6090 easily cleared the House of Representatives a month or so ago. It awaits an uncertain future in the Senate.

This bill directs the Department of Education to add a certain definition of antisemitism as an arrow in its quiver when investigating violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on college campuses. This is obviously a response to numerous pro-Palestinian protests and encampments at universities across America, particularly elite institutions, and the embarrassing performance of their presidents in testifying before Congress.

The definition of antisemitism employed is from a highly reputable source: the International Holocaust Remembrance Association. It is too long to repeat here, but it includes many of the standard tropes: Making allegations about the power of Jews as a collective, accusing Jews of divided loyalties, denying the reality of the Holocaust, applying double standards to Israel, and so forth.

I have no doubt the vast majority of America’s entitled tent-dwellers could pass the antisemitism test with flying colors. And yet, I wonder if this bill goes too far.

As has been repeated countless times, criticism of the Israeli government’s actions (or those of any country) is a vital and necessary component of free speech. This includes one’s own. Sadly, that right is protected in exactly one Middle Eastern country. For our tented protesters, even that is one too many.

This issue divides many on the left, and the Democratic Party is no exception. The ACLU has come out against the bill, saying it is not only unnecessary but that it poses a legitimate threat to free speech.

In the knock-me-over-with-a-feather department, whack-job Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) agrees with the ACLU. How often does that happen?

Greene claims to be an opponent of antisemitism. She is on the record as saying, and I quote, “Antisemitism is wrong.” That doesn’t exactly make her a Profile in Courage, but OK.

What’s more interesting is that she has spoken at a conference organized by a Holocaust denier, and believes the Rothschild family uses space lasers to control the weather. Thanks to her, I’m a proud owner of a “Jewish Space Laser Patrol” patch.

So what’s her beef with HR 6090? According to her post on X, the bill could “convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel …”. Ashamed as I am to say this in a public forum, I think she is right.

There is no getting around it: The New Testament very clearly blames Jews for the death of Jesus. The devil (so to speak) is in the details.

There are legitimate disagreements on how to interpret the Koine’ Greek word Ioudaioi . Does it mean all Jews as a whole? Does it mean just the community’s religious leaders at the time? Does it mean something entirely different? On the outcome of such arcane theological disputes rests the blood of millions.

I had thought Pope Paul VI had put this controversy to rest way back in 1965, but it seems to be back with a vengeance. Anybody remember Mel Gibson’s disgraceful “Passion of the Christ”? How about his drunk tirade to an arresting police officer on how Jews were “responsible for all the problems in the world”?

I wish I could believe bills like HR 6090 could be an effective tool against antisemitism, not just on college campuses, but everywhere. Unfortunately, all they do is add fuel to flames of anti-Jewish conspiracy. What we need now is not law, but moral clarity and loving kindness.

Sadly, at this moment in history, both appear in short supply.

Barry Fagin is an ACLU National Civil Liberties Award Winner and a lay Torah reader at Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs. He is still waiting for his check from the International Jewish Media Conspiracy.