IHRA
The state “has long stood with Israel and with our Jewish community,” said Gov. Henry McMaster, of the bill codifying the IHRA definition of Jew-hatred.
The legislators “are not comfortable hearing bills supporting Jews at this time,” per an internal Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey email.
“I am encouraged by the bipartisan support the bill received today in the House,” said the legislation’s sponsor, House Speaker Tim Moore.
“If one had hoped an academic letter would be more reality-based, one would be disappointed,” David Bernstein wrote on the Volokh Conspiracy.
The bill, which codifies the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of Jew-hatred for Title VI purposes, passed 320-91 and is now Senate-bound.
The act is more important than ever “with Jewish students increasingly fearing for their safety,” stated Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
“It’s a great feeling. You can get back at the trolls in a way that helps Israel,” Esther Panitch, a Georgia state representative, told JNS.
“The legislation would provide federal officials with an objective, contemporary definition of antisemitism,” said Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.).
“We thank Gov. Abbott for his leadership in taking this crucial step to ensure a safe learning environment for Jewish students in Texas,” stated Sacha Roytman, CEO of Combat Antisemitism Movement.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said that the bill, without the IHRA contemporary examples, has “confusing language.”
“Indiana would become the first state in the nation to codify the IHRA definition without explicitly including the examples,” said Rabbi Mark Goldfeder, who leads the National Jewish Advocacy Center.
The public school quietly excised the widely-used definition late last year, after initially pairing it with a fringe competing definition.
