Good afternoon, chairwoman Inna Vernikov, chairman Eric Dinowitz and task force members. Thank you for the opportunity to testify at this hearing of the New York City Council Task Force to Combat Antisemitism on “Reporting on Antisemitic Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents in New York City.”
My name is Alyza Lewin. I’m president of U.S. Affairs for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), an American organization dedicated to fighting global antisemitism. I’m an attorney with more than 30 years of experience countering religious discrimination.
Earlier today, witnesses from the New York City Police Department explained that the identity—alone—of a victim without additional evidence is insufficient to establish an incident as a hate crime. They explained that to confirm an incident as a hate crime, the police must first identify evidence that the crime was motivated by anti-Jewish bias.
Therein lies the rub.
If police investigating a crime identify Jews by their religion, if they fail to understand that Jews are also a people with a shared ancestry and ethnicity rooted in the land of Israel, then they are likely to miss or ignore evidence of bias that targets Jews on the basis of the Jewish people’s connection to Israel.
To address antisemitism effectively today, it is essential to understand that Judaism is an ancient ethno-religion defined by more than religious belief and religious practice. Jews are also a people whose history, ancestry, theology, customs and culture are inextricably intertwined with Israel.
Jews in New York are frequently targeted because of this connection between the Jewish people and Israel, the Jews’ ancestral homeland. Those who attack Jews and Jewish property in New York or harass Jewish business owners and patrons do so because they view all Jews around the world as connected to Israel.
Today, those who recognize that the Jews are a people indigenous to Israel are frequently branded as “Zionists.” They are then blamed for the world’s misfortune, treated as pariahs and even assaulted.
To protect Jews from contemporary antisemitism, law enforcement must recognize as a hate crime when Jews are both targeted on the basis of their shared ancestry rooted in the land of Israel and when Jews are targeted on the basis of their religious belief and religious practice.
In addition, law enforcement must be able to distinguish between a good-faith political debate about the Middle East, on the one hand, and the vilification of Jews on the basis of their Jewishness on the other. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism is a key tool that can help law enforcement discern the difference.
As the IHRA definition explains, “Israel” is often treated as a “Jewish collectivity” and substituted in place of “Jews” in conspiracy models. Instead of accusing “the Jews” of conspiring to harm humanity and controlling government, the media and the banks, there are those who accuse “Israel” of these evils. When the term “Israel” or “Zionist” is used simply to dehumanize and vilify Jews, that is not a political debate about Israel’s policies. That is antisemitism.
As the IHRA definition notes, “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”
Criticizing the policies of the Israeli government the way people around the world criticize the policies of their governments is not antisemitic. Demonizing, delegitimizing or applying a double standard to individual Jews, the Jewish people or to “Israel” as a “Jewish collectivity,” however, is antisemitic.
It is insufficient to define antisemitism as “prejudice, violence or discrimination against Jews because they are Jewish,” as the mayor’s office has done. This definition is ambiguous. What does it mean to target a person “because they are Jewish?” Does that mean that the perpetrator is biased against Jews because they don’t like the Jewish person’s religious beliefs or the way they dress? Or could it mean that the assailant opposes the Jewish people’s shared national ancestry?
If Jews in New York are not able to openly embrace their history and heritage connected to Israel, then they are not safe or free to practice their faith. NYPD must ensure that Jews in New York are protected from harassment, discrimination and crimes that target Jews on the basis of the Jewish people’s shared ancestry and ethnicity, as well as on the basis of the Jews’ religious beliefs.
We urge the city council and the NYPD to adopt and utilize the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. In addition, training should be instituted to ensure that prosecutors, all law-enforcement officers, and the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force understand and recognize all signs of antisemitic bias, including symbols and slogans that are hostile to the Jewish people’s shared ancestral connection to Israel.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement would be pleased to help facilitate such training.
Thank you.
