JEWISHcolorado JCRC’s Post

The House is expected to vote today on the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would mandate that the Dept. of Education uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. Jewish Federations of North America have been leading advocacy efforts around the passage of this critical legislation for over a year. Now, in the wake of Oct. 7 and a terrifying increase in antisemitism worldwide, it has become even more important. Take a moment to tell Congress that a vote for this bill is a vote for the Jewish community, and vote for Jewish students, and a vote against antisemitism: https://ow.ly/QyFx50RtzHn

ACT NOW! The House is expected to vote TODAY on the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would mandate that the Dept. of Education uses International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance - IHRA definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. Jewish Federations have been leading advocacy efforts around the passage of this critical legislation for over a year. Now, in the wake of Oct. 7 and a terrifying increase in antisemitism worldwide, it has become even more important. Click below to tell Congress NOW that a vote for this bill is a vote for the Jewish community, a vote for Jewish students, and a vote *against* antisemitism.

URGE MD DELEGATES TO ADVANCE EDUCATE TO STOP THE HATE ACT Less than two weeks remain in the Maryland General Assembly session, and Senate Bill 1058 - The Educate to Stop the Hate Act, a priority for the JCRC of Greater Washington, is hanging in the balance. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Ben Kramer, passed the Senate, but is currently awaiting a vote in the House Ways and Means Committee. Please email committee members and encourage them to advance this bill so it can be voted on by the full House of Delegates. This bill would require county school systems to establish guidelines for social studies curriculum to include Holocaust education and other anti-hate subjects at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Hate has no place in Maryland. Please take action today by contacting House Ways and Means Committee members and urge them to support SB 1058. Take Action: https://lnkd.in/gaas_TZa #antisemitism

Last year had the highest number of antisemitic incidents since 1979. So an incredibly broad coalition of 61 national Jewish groups signed a letter urging the House to vote on the Countering Antisemitism Act. Here what it will do and why we need it: 1. The American Jewish Committee found one in four American Jews reported they were the target of an antisemitic incident. So the bill will establish a National Coordinator and a dedicated Task Force to mobilize across federal agencies to address antisemitism. 2. It’s clear that we’re seeing an exponential increase in antisemitism on college campuses. So the bill will require the Department of Education to designate a senior official to advise and oversee the Department’s efforts to counter antisemitic discrimination at colleges and universities. 3.  FBI data shows that American Jews are 2.4% of the U.S. population but the victims of 63% of reported religiously-motivated hate crimes. The bill will promote Holocaust education, fight antisemitic violent extremism online and offline, and codify Jewish American Heritage Month. Jewish safety is inherent to the safety of all communities and our democracy. Let's get this done - email your reps here: https://lnkd.in/ebRYZZ5y

This is profoundly worrying. Mr Falter, Chief Executive of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, was threatened with arrest for “being openly Jewish“ in the vicinity of a pro-Palestinian march. As he was stopped in his tracks, so was the freedom of movement of the peaceful, proud and loyal Jewish population of this country. The big question is this: How have we allowed the streets of London to tolerate intimidation and violence to the point that there must be restrictions on Jewish movement? We must question the training, attitudes and good sense of metropolitan police officers. One week, the swastika is arguably okay depending on "context". The next week? To walk the streets of London when “openly Jewish“ risks arrest. Has the world been turned upside down? Confidence in the police is dipping to an all-time low where the Jewish community is concerned. On top of the rise in anti-Semitism, we need to feel protected. Not under threat at the hands of police for exercising our basic fundamental right of freedom of movement. https://lnkd.in/ebHZZDbW

When ‘protestors’ this year began making Jews unwelcome and unsafe at our universities, I was reminded of the actions by ‘civic minded’ students and academics in 1930s Germany and Austria to make campuses ‘Jew-free’. Now I see an Australian synagogue plastered with a slogan shaming those who come to worship - shaming them as Jews. The only thing that could have made this desecration a more serious reminder of the #antisemitism we are witnessing would have been for the protestors to smash the synagogue windows. How can we tolerate vandalism and intimidation at a synagogue, action that insinuates opprobrium simply for being Jewish? Perhaps some of those prosecuting the case for Palestinian rights have been dangerously mindless in their political theatre and virtue signaling. But the people organizing this action knew exactly what they were doing, and they succeed if we come to see unabashed anti-semitism legitimized as a normal part of public political discourse in Australia. This is not legitimate political protest. It is not free speech. This is deep hatred, and incitement that seeks to blame, humiliate, disempower, and ostracize. State and Federal Governments must act decisively to deal with the growing willingness of malevolent actors in our community to intimidate Jewish institutions and fellow Jewish Australians. Governments need to do so before such actors grow even more aggressive and the community becomes desensitized and oblivious to their acts of denigration and harassment - or worse becomes not just inured to the lies of anti-semitism but believers in those lies.

My Testimony to the Ohio Legislature: Why Defining Antisemitism Matters Today, I testified before the Ohio State Legislature in support of House Bill 618, which adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This definition is essential to: - Equip state employees with anti-bias training. - Ensure judicial systems address antisemitism with rigor. - Include Jewish communities in anti-discrimination efforts. - Balance free speech while addressing hate. With hate crimes on the rise, clarity is crucial. House Bill 618 sends a clear message: Hate has no place in Ohio. I’m proud to advocate for a more inclusive and just society. Let’s stand together against antisemitism and all forms of hate. You can hear me speak at the 21:48 mark of the following link https://lnkd.in/g85RcZbV #HumanRights #Antisemitism #Inclusion #StopHate #JusticeForAll #LegislationMatters #StopAntisemitism #NoPlaceForHate #UnityInDiversity

Police have shot dead a ‘radicalised’ teenager in Perth, Australia, in what the police describe as having the ‘hallmarks’ of a terrorist incident. If so, we are likely witnessing the results of our leaders failing to act assertively after the 7 October massacre. The outrageous celebrations at the Opera House of those murders and rapes showed there are some, hopefully not many, who do not share our national values. The ‘pressure release’ attitude, if not strategy, by the authorities has apparently failed. It gave our politicians, and the police at times, an excuse for equivocation, soft condemnation, and gestures. This has been taken as licence by Palestinian activists, whose actions have escalated in recent months. Arab/Islamic community groups stand condemned for their efforts to deflect and otherwise to minimise the seriousness of the situation. They know hatred is preached in their mosques and meeting houses. They know extremism is growing in their communities. They are seemingly untroubled by their young men driving through predominantly Jewish suburbs in convoys, or parading Islamic flags and chanting the Shahadah like a battle cry on our streets. However, the responsibility falls foremost upon our political leaders. They are elected to secure our national defence and public security. But the prime minister still does not take the situation seriously. He regards the student protestors on our university campuses as ignorant socialist activists. That is not the case. He seems incurious why the Palestinian cause is suddenly so popular in our country, while support (except for ulterior reasons) remains almost nonexistent in the Middle East. Yet, even the Palestinian agitators in our cities may not be the root problem. I believe that Islamists and extreme left-wing groups are acting, either loosely or coordinated, to break down our society for their own ends. We have witnessed several terror-related incidents, or allegations of the same, in as many weeks. Our society has been fractured. We now risk its disintegration with a complete civilisational breakdown. While that forecast might seem exaggerated, consider what we have witnessed across the world in the past seven months. Certainly, the trajectory that we are on is alarming. More so because of the inability, or unwillingness, to understand the forces unleashed, and the lack of moral courage to act assertively to stop them. It is time to hold our politicians to account: we are reaping what they allowed to be sowed in our society. Or will we wait until there is a suicide attack on the Australian War Memorial before we kick our politicians into action? That ‘globalise the intifada’ looks real.

Tremendous progress— in adapting the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of Antisemitisem by Federal law, the House creates a clear moral compass needed in the States. International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance