The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved by a majority of 311 votes to 14 votes (13 Democrats and one Republican) a non-binding resolution stating that "anti-Zionism is antisemitism." 

The resolution, introduced by Jewish Republican Representatives Max Miller of Ohio and David Kustoff of Tennessee, "strongly condemns" all forms of antisemitism, and affirms the House’s strong support for the Jewish community in the United States and worldwide following "the rise in antisemitic rhetoric and actions" sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

The resolution "clearly and firmly" states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

Ninety-two Democrats voted "present," which effectively means abstaining from voting, after three prominent Jewish Democrats in the House urged members to do so, describing the legislation as "the latest unserious attempt by Republicans to use Jewish pain and the serious problem of antisemitism as a weapon to score cheap political points."

Kustoff rejected the suggestion that the action he took was political, instead accusing Democrats of adopting anti-Jewish views. He said, "We have seen members of this very body repeat blatantly antisemitic rhetoric and spread lies about Israel and its right to exist. Let me be perfectly clear, such hatred has no place in the halls of Congress, nor in our national discourse."

In recent weeks, Republicans and some Democrats have accused certain left-wing Democrats of using antisemitic language. Last month, the House condemned Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, for promoting a pro-Palestinian slogan, "From the river to the sea," which many consider a call for the destruction of the state of Israel.

For his part, Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York and the longest-serving Jewish member in the House, said in a speech before the House: “Under this resolution, those who love Israel deeply but criticize some of its policies could be considered anti-Zionist... This could make every Jewish Democratic member in this body, as they all criticized the recent judicial reform package in Israel, effectively antisemitic. Could this be the author's intention?”

Nadler continued: "Let me be unmistakably clear: Most anti-Zionism, especially at this moment, suffers from a real problem of antisemitism... but we cannot fairly say that one equals the other."

Nadler described the equation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism as "either intellectually dishonest or simply factually wrong," saying: "If the authors of the resolution were knowledgeable about Jewish history and culture, they should know about Jewish anti-Zionism which was, and still is, not explicitly antisemitic."

He added: "This resolution ignores the fact that even today, some Orthodox Hasidic Jewish communities—Satmar in New York and others—as well as followers of the Jewish labor movement before the establishment of the state, hold views that conflict with the modern Zionist concept."