Is the Devil Behind the Antisemitism Awareness Act?
And is the Holy Bible Next?
Those on the Christian right are known for making claims that George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist known for his support of liberal and progressive causes, is the sponsor of pretty much any act or project that upsets them. But now some Christian nationalists are turning their attention away from Soros, a non-observant Jew, and focusing on Satan. Is the Devil behind the Antisemitism Awareness Act?
That bill to ban antisemitic speech on college campuses, recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, is headed to the Senate. It was introduced by Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY), with 45 other Republicans and 15 Democrats as co-sponsors. The bill passed in a 320-to-91 vote, with 70 Democrats and 21 Republicans opposing it. Backers of the bill were reacting to those on college campuses who have been demonstrating against Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the reported deaths of more than 34,000 people at the hands of the Israeli military.
As The New York Times has reported “the bill would for the first time enshrine a definition of antisemitism into federal law, and instruct the Education Department to consider it when investigating allegations of discrimination against Jews on college campuses. That could lead to federal funds being withheld from colleges or universities that fail to restrict a broad range of statements covered by the definition.”
Those statements include “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” and claiming that Israel’s existence is a “racist endeavor.”
But will this law, if passed and signed by President Biden, a devout Catholic, ban the Bible from schools? Here is what U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Green (R.-Ga) claims in a post on X (aka Twitter):
“Antisemitism is wrong, but I will not be voting for the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (H.R. 6090) today that could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews,” she said.
A fellow far-right Republican, U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz (R.-Fla), has issued a similar statement: “The Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of this bill!” Gaetz said.
So, while Rep. Lawler introduced the bill, was someone else really behind it? That’s where Satan comes into play. Right-wing evangelicals have long claimed that the Devil has been trying to overturn the United States of America as they know it. Some have blamed him for the surge of immigrants trying to cross the country’s southern border. Members of the extreme rightwing QAnon movement, claim a global child sex trafficking ring is operated by a group of Satanists who are backed by George Soros and connected to prominent Democrats like Hillary Clinton.
There already are laws in many states that ban books that contain certain kinds of content, including violence and physical abuse, race and racism themes, LGBTQ characters, sexual acts, mentions of teen pregnancy, and abortion. Many of those laws have been advocated for by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group focused on banning books. Even without the passage of the federal Antisemitism Awareness Act, those state laws pose a potential risk to the display of Bibles in many schools and libraries. For example, the Utah state legislature in 2022 passed a law that allows parents to challenge “criminally indecent or pornographic” books found in school libraries. Then, someone claiming to be a resident of the Davis School District, north of Salt Lake City in Utah, responded by asking that the King James Bible be banned from elementary and middle schools because of its “sex-ridden content.” including instances of incest, prostitution, and rape.
In an essay about the issue, Arwa Madhawi, a columnist for the Guardian, noted the Genesis chapter describes Lots’ two daughters getting him drunk and having sex with him, and a gang rape by angels. The Davis School District responded to the complaint by banning the Bible from elementary and middle schools. However, it quickly reversed that ban after local Christians expressed their outrage. The identity of the person filing the Davis School District complaint hasn’t been made public, so it is unclear whether he or she is a Satanist.
There have been similar requests to ban the Bible in school districts in other states (including 62 in Florida alone). The Freedom From Religion Foundation has supported those requests, citing Bible verses that “display a lewd, depraved, pornographic view of sex and women, with sexual violence often ordered or countenanced by the biblical deity.” The FFRF ran an ad in the Salt Lake City Tribune last year calling for the removal of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon from schools.
“The bible is “replete with violent, graphic, degrading descriptions as well as age-inappropriate stories,” FFRF said. That includes descriptions of “sperm, menstruation, intercourse, rape, incest, masturbation, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, sadism, sexual mutilation and ‘harlots’ and ‘whores’…”
News Or Not? reached out to Satan for comment on assertions that he is behind the Antisemitism Awareness Act but as of publication has not received a response. However, a member of the Satanic Temple has told News Or Not? that Satanists on Earth are pushing for its passage.
