Gaetz under fire for defending antisemitism vote with antisemitic trope

Rep. Matt Gaetz came under fire Wednesday from a powerful K Street lobbyist after the lawmaker voted against a bipartisan antisemitism bill — and defended his decision with an antisemitic trope.

Jeff Miller, a close ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, called Gaetz an “anti-semite” and a “pedophile” as he responded on X, formerly Twitter, to a post less than an hour earlier by the Florida representative.

The legislation, which comes in response to campus protests of the Israel-Hamas war, would require the Education Department to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. It passed in a 320-91 vote but is not expected to be taken up by the Senate.

In his post, Gaetz said antisemitism is “wrong,” but he said the bill violates the Constitution and “common sense” with its definition of antisemitic language.

“The bill says the definition of antisemitism includes ‘contemporary examples of antisemitism’ identified by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). One of those examples includes: ‘… claims of Jews killing Jesus …’,” Gaetz wrote. “The Bible is clear. There is no myth or controversy on this. Therefore, I will not support this bill.”

Claims that Jews are responsible for the execution of Jesus by Roman authorities have long been regarded as an antisemitic trope and rejected by historians and theologians.

The late Pope Benedict XVI, for example, wrote in a 2011 book that there was no basis in Scripture for the argument that Jewish people were collectively responsible for the death of Jesus.

“You’re not just a pedophile but also an anti-semite… the rhetoric like this statement that Jews killed Jesus is an anti semitic trope,” Miller wrote on X.

Gaetz later issued a response to POLITICO. “Antisemitism is wrong. I condemn it in any form," he said. "But if hastily approving a poorly drafted bill that could literally deem the Bible antisemitism is our response, then the antisemites win.”

Gaetz has been accused of having sex with a teenager who was under 18 but has not been charged and denies the allegation. McCarthy has blamed the Florida representative for his loss of the speakership, saying "one person wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old."

At the time, Gaetz tied the decision to force a vote to remove McCarthy to the California Republican’s decision to work with House Democrats to avert a looming government shutdown.

Miller declined to comment further on the post.