Scott Introduces Antisemitism Measure in Senate

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) and Sen. Mike Braun (R) have introduced a bill to prohibit Amnesty International from receiving any funds from the United States Government after allegations of antisemitism.

This initiative to defund the international Non-governmental organization (NGO) comes after the organization released a scathing report against Israel calling it an apartheid state and its director stating that Israel ‘shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state.’

Both the report and comments were followed by bipartisan condemnation from members of both the House and Senate.

Scott and Braun’s bill would defund the organization, which has received more the $2.5 million in federal funds in the past 2 decades, because of its use of its platform to disseminate false and antisemitic reports targeting Israel. The organization has been accused of delegitimizing the Jewish state while neglecting to focus its efforts on the world’s worst abusers of human rights.

"Amnesty International has proven itself to be a sham of a ‘human rights’ organization that perpetuates anti-Semitic propaganda and refuses to hold the world’s dangerous and genocidal regimes accountable, like Communist China, Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Just last month, the Amnesty International USA Director said, ‘We are opposed to the idea that Israel should be preserved as a state for the Jewish people.," stated Sen. Scott. "Under no circumstances should American taxpayer dollars subsidize this or any organization that continually acts against U.S. interests and demonizes our great ally, Israel. My bill will cut off Amnesty International from federal funding and relief programs and make it abundantly clear that the United States will not support the radical left’s dangerous anti-Israel agenda. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.”

In February, a bipartisan group led by Wasserman Schultz issued a joint statement condemning the organization’s report and cited the organization’s long history of criminalizing and delegitimizing the world’s only Jewish state.

Amnesty International has published 208 reports against Israel since the 1970s, but only 40 reports on North Korea and 61 on Venezuela.

The disproportionate attack against the democratic nation contributes to the exponential growth in antisemitism both in the United States and globally.

Scott and Braun’s bill may serve as a catalyst for bipartisan efforts to combat the disproportionate attacks against Israel which contribute to the exponential growth in antisemitism in the United States and around the world.

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) recognized the anniversary of American soldiers liberating Buchenwald concentration camp in a tweet this week,  highlighting the importance of remembering the Holocaust to fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds.

Her tweet comes just a week after Republican Senators introduced a legislative measure to address antisemitism.