In a significant move, the House of Representatives approved a resolution on Tuesday condemning the "drastic rise of antisemitism" both in the United States and around the world. The vote came in response to the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th, leading to a fractured response from Democrats and accusations from liberals that Republicans were "weaponizing Jewish pain."

The resolution, passed with a vote of 311-14-92, reaffirms the House's unwavering support for the Jewish community globally. It calls on elected officials and world leaders to firmly denounce antisemitism while rejecting all forms of terror, hate, discrimination, and harassment directed towards Jewish individuals. Notably, the resolution also states that anti-Zionism is considered antisemitism.

Despite a last-minute effort by prominent Jewish Democrats, who urged members of their caucus to vote "present" on the legislation, the resolution was still approved. A total of 92 members decided to vote present based on the argument that the resolution was redundant since the House had already affirmed Israel's right to exist as an independent state in a previous resolution. They pointed out that the complexity of Judaism, including the anti-Zionist stance of the Satmar sect, should not be overlooked.

Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) issued a joint statement earlier on Tuesday, criticizing the resolution as a political maneuver by Republicans to exploit Jewish pain and antisemitism for personal gain. They emphasized that the resolution did not grasp nuances within Judaism itself.

Surprisingly, 13 Democrats voted against the resolution, including Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Jesús "Chuy" García (Ill.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Gerry Connolly (Va.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), and Ilhan Omar (Minn.). Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) was the sole Republican to oppose the measure.

The House's decision to consider this resolution was spurred by a report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which highlighted a significant increase in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. since the October 7th attack by Hamas. According to the ADL, there was a 388 percent rise in reports of harassment, vandalism, and assault in the aftermath of the offensive compared to the same period last year. The organization further noted that 190 incidents were directly linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas out of the 312 reported antisemitic incidents between October 7th and October 23rd.

This latest resolution marks another show of solidarity with Israel by the House in response to the surprise attack by Hamas, which claimed the lives of approximately 1,200 people. Since then, Israel has continued its offensive against Hamas, resulting in an estimated 15,000 deaths in Gaza over the past month.

Last week, the House passed a resolution demanding the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas. Prior to that, the chamber cleared resolutions condemning the support of Hamas and Hezbollah on college campuses, as well as expressing support for Israel while condemning Hamas.

The approval of this resolution demonstrates a united front against antisemitism, though the divided Democratic response raises questions about the party's internal dynamics and differing viewpoints on the issue.