Nearly two dozen Democrats and one Republican voted against a resolution of the Parliament condemning support for Hamas, Hezbollah and “other terrorist organizations” on US colleges — and several Democrats defended their vote when asked by FOX News.
The resolution, authored by Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, affirmed that such demonstrations created a hostile environment for Jewish students, acknowledged the October 7 attack by Hamas and outlined how Hamas’ long-term goal is “total destruction.” of the Jewish state.
When asked by FOX Business Correspondent Hillary Vaughn if he voted “no,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., dismissed the idea that he has not condemned anti-Semitism, saying he is one of the “most vocal people” on it the forehead, the front line in combat.
“[T]Here there are lies in the resolution, and right now, there are lies everywhere on all sides of this,” Frost said, adding that he had previously decided a week ago to vote against “anything that contains lies” because it would hurt “both the Jews and the Arabs and the Muslims. students equally”.
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Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., responded similarly to a question about no, saying she condemns anti-Semitism “every day.”
“So why not vote for the bill?” Vaughn countered. Lee gave the same general answer several times afterward.
In her case, Lee’s vote against an Oct. 25 bill certifying that the House “stands with Israel as it defends itself” drew the ire of Jewish leaders in her Pittsburgh district.
More than 30 religious figures in the Steel City wrote an open letter expressing “disappointment and anger” over her vote, according to WESA-NPR.
Some of the other “no” votes included “Squad” members such as Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as several urban Democrats such as Jesus Garcia of Chicago, Andre Carson from Indianapolis and Maxine Waters from Los. Angels.
Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Bonnie Watson Coleman, DN.J., also voted “no,” according to the House Clerk’s roll call.
When confronted with his no, Bowman responded more forcefully, asking Vaughn, “What are you talking about? I did this [condemned antisemitism] a million times.”
Bowman said he disagreed with the resolution itself and that his no vote was cast regardless of his ongoing fight against “hate in all its forms.”
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In another back-and-forth, Pressley responded that she condemns “anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and hatred in all its forms over and over again.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the only Republican who did not vote. He raised constitutional free speech concerns about the document in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Owens’ resolution also said that many colleges and universities have failed to “speak out clearly” against Hamas and “exposed their lack of respect for their Jewish and pro-Israel students” — and that they “glorify[ing] violence and anti-Semitic rhetoric’ has created a hostile environment.
Carson, another of the lawmakers who voted “no,” was recently accused by Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League of trying to “intimidate” fellow Democrat Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, who is Jewish.
Gottheimer had previously criticized “despicable” lawmakers for not voting to “condemn Hamas terrorists,” prompting Carson to call him “too emotional” and “a coward and a punk.”
Watson Coleman said in a statement Friday that the resolution she voted against did not meet the “standard” of a “serious and measured approach to combating” anti-Semitism on campus, a situation she called “disgusting.”
On “America Reports,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., was asked about his fellow Democrats who voted “no” on the Owens resolution as well as those calling for an Israeli cease-fire against Gaza.
Khanna emphasized his “yes” and noted Massie’s objection on free speech grounds, saying that while he disagreed with that position, he believed some of the Democrats who objected did so from that point of view as well, not from any of his permissiveness. antisemitism.
FOX News’ Hillary Vaughn and Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
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