House Judiciary Hearing: Gill Questions Witness on Antisemitic Phrases

Denouncing Antisemitism

• 💡 Antisemitism is a significant issue that must be denounced vehemently wherever it is found.
• 🎯 This bigotry is rooted not only in ancient prejudice but often in movements seeking to dismantle western civilization, which is founded on Judeo-Christian values.

Organizations and Movements

• 🚩 Organizations, particularly on the left, are frequently anti-semitic.
• 🚫 The BDS movement is criticized for labeling Israel as an apartheid, genocidal, and settler-colonialist state.
• 🎓 The Students for Justice in Palestine movement is linked to Hamas and has made campuses inhospitable for Jewish students.
• 🕊️ Code Pink, described as connected to the CCP and ostensibly anti-war, issued a statement supporting Palestinian resistance the day after October 7th, rather than condemning the violence against Jews.

Controversial Slogans and Phrases

• 🗣️ Members of Congress have compared Jews to termites and called Israel evil.
• 🌊 The slogan "from the river to the sea" is discussed, with the witness stating that while terms can have different meanings, language fueling violent attacks must be understood through that lens.
• 🌍 The phrase "globalize the intifada" is directly questioned.

Witness Testimony on Antisemitic Language

• ⚖️ The witness states that many Jews experience phrases like "from the river to the sea" as antisemitic.
• ⚠️ From a civil rights perspective, language like this can be probative of anti-semitic bias.
• ✡️ A phrase that excludes the existence of the Jewish state is considered clearly anti-semitic.
• 🏛️ In light of recent violent attacks, the witness experiences "globalize the intifada" as incredibly problematic and agrees it is antisemitic, condemning its use.