JNS
House approves Omar-backed bill to create Islamophobia monitor, despite concerns of targeting Israel
by Dmitriy Shapiro
December 15, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill to create an envoy to monitor and combat Islamophobia on Tuesday in a partisan vote, following a long and vitriolic debate on the House floor. The bill, H.R. 5665, Combating International Islamophobia Act, which was introduced by Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), passed the house by a vote of 219-212, with all Democrats voting for the bill and all Republicans opposing it… Republicans opposed the bill, primarily stating that besides the redundancy it could bring to the State Department, which already has offices to handle issues of religious liberty, Islamophobia is a loosely defined term they fear can be used label legitimate criticism of the actions of Muslims throughout the world. READ MORE

COALITION FOR JEWISH VALUES Omar’s Islamophobia Monitor Will Undercut the Fight Against Anti-Semitism, Encourage Anti-Semites Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, argued that a monitor for Islamophobia would undercut the work of the antisemitism monitor. “To suggest that Islamophobia is on par with antisemitism is to dramatically understate and even trivialize the historic and pervasive nature that makes antisemitism such a difficult problem to overcome,” said Chabot.