Just days before Abigail Spanberger becomes governor, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin published recommendations for how the state can better combat antisemitism in the state’s education system.
Spanberger, a Democrat, is slated to take office on Saturday. The report, released under the outgoing Republican administration, calls for creating a “comprehensive reporting mechanism” to track incidents of bias against Jews and other faith groups.
“Virginia lacks a centralized reporting portal for incidents of antisemitism and other anti-religious bigotry, and there are no existing reporting structures dedicated to antisemitism and other antireligious bigotry,” the report says. “Existing mechanisms, while helpful, do not include a comprehensive tracking mechanism and data collection locale.”
The report notes that Virginia has three offices that handle complaints of antisemitism in education: the attorney general’s office, the council of higher education and the education department.
The report follows Youngkin’s executive order 48, issued in May, which ordered state officials to provide resources on combating Jew-hatred, respond to antisemitic discrimination in the same manner as other forms of illegal discrimination and to encourage schools to “ensure that teachers are using high-quality and accurate instructional materials to teach about Judaism, Jewish history, the Holocaust and Israel.”
Youngkin touted his administration’s record on battling Jew-hatred, which included signing into law a bill that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
“Since day one, I have made it clear that we will not rest until antisemitism and anti-religious bigotry are driven out of our campuses, classrooms and commonwealth,” Youngkin said.
“While we have great work yet to do as a commonwealth, I am proud that my team is handing off one of the strongest programs to combat antisemitism in the country to the next administration,” he stated.
JNS sought comment from Spanberger about the report and whether she intends to follow through on its recommendations when she takes office.
Though legislation and executive orders adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism often enjoy bipartisan support, its use has been controversial among some Democrats, who allege that the definition and its contemporary examples could be used to label all criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, reportedly spiked IHRA legislation in his state over such concerns, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rescinded his predecessor’s executive order adopting the definition on his first day in office.
After outgoing Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a letter earlier this month reminding Virginia school superintendents of their legal obligation to uphold the IHRA definition, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law encouraged Spanberger to do the same.
“Virginia must not follow New York City’s example,” wrote Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the center and a former U.S. assistant secretary of education for civil rights.
“We call on you to follow the lead of Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden, whose administrations similarly embraced the IHRA working definition of antisemitism,” he said.
