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Florida Legislator Introduces Bill to Enhance Penalties for Antisemitic Hate Crimes

Florida’s Republican Representative Mike Caruso of District 87 filed new legislation that would enhance penalties for hate crimes.

The lawmaker introduced this bill in response to the several recent cases of antisemitism not only in Palm Beach County but statewide.

"They deserve and have the right towards quiet enjoyment in their communities and the ability to practice their Jewish faith without reprisal, without fear of harm," Caruso told WPBF 25 News.

Earlier this month, suspects used a projector to display swastika symbols on an AT&T building in West Palm Beach. In the past few weeks, there have also been antisemitic flyers distributed in various neighborhoods in Palm Beach County.

"First, it establishes that the projection of anything onto any public or private property without the written permission from the owner of the property or a permit from a city...it's a public building...without that, it's a first-degree misdemeanor," Caruso said. "Now if they project something of a hateful nature, such as a swastika, something that is offensive from an ethnic or religious perspective, then it's elevated to a hate crime and therefore a third-degree felony."

The bill also lays out similar punishments for those who distribute antisemitic flyers, amongst other items.

"Elevate it to a third-degree felony... hate crime, and subject to the picking up publicly of trash throughout the community as the judge would deem appropriate," he said.

The legislation has to make its way through three committees in the House before making its way to the floor. The bill would have to follow similar steps in the Senate before legislation eventually heads to the governor's desk.

"Hate has no blue or red to it. It's not Republican; it's not Democrat. It's just wrong. And we need to put a stop to it as soon as we can before it escalates any further. And clearly, it's getting out of hand," Caruso said.

The goal is for the bill to be in effect this October.

"We said, and we've always said, 'never again.' And we mean 'never again,'" Caruso said.

RNC to Vote on Resolution Condemning ‘Infiltration’ of Antisemitism in Party

The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday will consider a draft resolution declaring that antisemites are attempting to “infiltrate” the Republican Party. The resolution specifically names and condemns Kanye West and the antisemitic alt-right figure Nick Fuentes who has used the “analogy” of “baked cookies” to dispute the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust

“The scourge of antisemitism, anti-Israel hatred, Holocaust-denial, and bigotry against the Jewish people is growing, represents a direct threat to all people, and is antithetical to our American principles, the U.S. Constitution, and the platform of the Republican Party,” the text reads. 

Shawn Steel, the RNC member from California who proposed the resolution, told The Algemeiner that he had noticed the growing appeal of antisemitic and bigoted figures on the fringes of the GOP in recent years.

“I’m disturbed by blatant bigotry,” Steel said. “I noticed Nick Fuentes, whom I had never heard of, from what he’s stated publicly he’s a very bad character, clearly antisemitic, white bigot, the usual stuff. But what bothered me is that in a couple of College Republican groups, there’s a couple of guys that seemed to think he was a cool dude, and I found that very, very alarming.”

Steel said that while those elements were admonished for their association with Fuentes, the rising star of Kanye West among conservatives before West’s recent antisemitic rants prompted him to act. “It’s not like it’s a one-off, it’s a slow drip, and it keeps dripping,” he said.

Steel says that the RNC resolution has more than 50 co-signers, and that he expects that it will be adopted with near unanimity and no amendments after it proceeds through the RNC rules committee on Thursday. The final vote to adopt the resolution will be held on Friday.

While the resolution does not mention former President Donald Trump by name, it comes after Trump’s Thanksgiving-week dinner at Mar-a-Lago with West, Fuentes, and alt-right provocateur Milo Yianopolis, all three of whom are denounced by name in the draft text. Trump’s meeting was condemned by the Republican Jewish Coalition and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the right, as well as President Biden and Congressional Democrats from the left.

Trump said that he and West “got along great” at the dinner, and that he didn’t know Yiannopoulos or Fuentes. “We got along great, [West] expressed no antisemitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on ‘Tucker Carlson.’ Why wouldn’t I agree to meet?” Trump said of the meeting on his Truth Social platform.

Fuentes, who is associated with West’s efforts to run for the Presidency in 2024, was re-instated on Twitter on Tuesday before being banned once again on Wednesday. During his brief return, Fuentes posted a video depicting “Defcon 3”, a reference to West saying that he wanted to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE” before his own Twitter ban, as well as other antisemitic content.

The RNC resolution also condemns rising antisemitism and opposition to Israel on the left, including from Squad members Cori Bush (D-MO), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

Tlaib on Wednesday once again accused Israel of being an apartheid state, writing on Twitter that “Palestinians may be banned from flying their flag under an apartheid government, but we can still proudly do it at my office.”

Antisemitic Statements from UN Rapporteur Ignites Bipartisan Call for Resignation

Eleven Democratic and Republican members of Congress called for the firing of the UN’s special rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, for her “outrageous” antisemitic statements. 

“Enough is enough,” the letter, led by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), reads. “Ms. Albanese’s comments are only the latest in a pattern of antisemitic behavior and rhetoric at the UN, which is obsessively focused on the world’s only Jewish state.”

The letter, which was addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, cites Albanese’s comments and writings over the past 10 years, including a 2014 letter in which she claimed America was “subjugated by the Jewish lobby” and her 2022 remarks to a Hamas conference in Gaza where she told the terrorist group’s attendees that they “have a right to resist this occupation.” Albanese has repeatedly asserted a Palestinian “right to resist”, including during the latest round of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza in August. “An unlawful act of resistance does not make the resistance unlawful,” she said.

NGO StopAntisemitism expressed gratitude for the bipartisan call to remove Albanese from her position within the United Nations over the various antisemitic remarks and actions.

Albanese, whose formal title is “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967” and who was appointed to a six-year term in May, has refused to apologize for any of her remarks, and says that her statement about the US being subjugated by Jews was “wrongly mischaracterized as antisemitic.”

Monday’s letter also criticizes the fact that Israel was subject to more UN General Assembly resolutions in 2022 than all other nations combined, and that it is the only country subjected to two open-ended UN investigations.

The commissioner of one of those investigations, Miloon Kothari of the UN’s Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, was forced to apologize in August after saying in an interview that social media was “controlled largely by the Jewish lobby.”

Citing Secretary General Guterres’ claim that “there is no room for antisemitism in the UN,” the letter concludes with a call for Albanese’s ouster.

“Failure to take meaningful action on repeated instances of antisemitism by UN officials undermines the UN’s credibility,” it reads. “We urge you to demonstrate that the UN is capable of genuinely addressing antisemitism by removing Ms. Albanese from her post.”

Bicoastal Counties Adopt IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

A pair of counties on opposite ends of the country, New York and Washington, have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

Westchester County, north of New York City, is the eighth largest Jewish county in the United States, with nearly 150,000 Jews. The community is served by approximately 60 synagogues and more than 80 Jewish organizations.

County Executive George Lattimer announced on Tuesday the issuance of an executive order implementing the IHRA definition. 

“In recent meetings with leaders of the Jewish Community in Westchester County as well as at numerous community events, we have discussed the disturbing increase in acts and expressions of antisemitism,” Lattimer wrote. “It is very important to me that all County residents speak forcefully and with one voice in denouncing these acts.” 

The order calls on all county officials, departments, staff, boards, and commissions to accept the IHRA definition “and utilize this definition to prevent harassment and discrimination.”

On Wednesday, Snohomish County, Washington’s council, voted unanimously to adopt the IHRA definition. Snohomish is the third largest county in Washington state and the first in the Evergreen State to endorse the IHRA definition, joining the cities of Tacoma and Bellevue.

Last year, Washington recorded the highest rate of antisemitic hate crimes in the state in two decades. 

The county’s resolution said that “while there can be no exhaustive definition of antisemitism because it can take many forms,” the IHRA definition “has been an essential definitional tool used to determine contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and includes useful examples of discriminatory anti-Israel acts that can cross the line into antisemitism.”

The IHRA definition states that antisemitism includes, among other things: denying Jews the right to self-determination, assigning responsibility to all Jews for the actions of a few or for Israeli governmental policies, applying double standards to Israel, and Holocaust denial and distortion. 

It has been adopted by dozens of countries, along with other governmental and private organizations—including the U.S. State Department—to guide their policies on antisemitism. Proponents point to the IHRA definition as a clear, compact, critical tool in identifying anti-Semitism and protecting Jews.

Those who oppose the IHRA definition often claim that it stifles criticism of Israel and equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism.

As of the new year, a total of 1,116 global entities had adopted the IHRA’s Working Definition of Antisemitism.

“Support for the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism transcends the political and ideological spectrum and unites entities and individuals of a broad swath of religious, national and cultural backgrounds,” said CAM CEO Sacha Roytman-Dratwa. “The surpassing of the 1,000 milestone since a previous report compiled by the Combat Antisemitism Movement is a telling indicator of the far-reaching impact and influence of the definition and its accompanying 11 explanatory examples of prejudiced and discriminatory behavior against Jews,” said Roytman-Dratwa.

“While the rise in antisemitic incidents has been alarming, the tidal wave of global support for the Jewish people is undeniable and greatly encouraging,” he added.

Nearly 1200 Global Entities Adopt and Endorse IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

As of the end of December 2022, a total of 1,116 global entities have adopted and endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism. In the United States, during 2022, 18 states adopted it via legislation or executive actions, bringing the total number of adopting states to 30. Seven out of 10 Canadian provinces have adopted the definition as well. US cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, El Paso and Wichita, Kansas, have also all adopted the IHRA definition.

Since the working definition of antisemitism was adopted by the IHRA alliance in 2016, it has become the most widely-recognized barometer in the collective effort against Jew-hatred, serving as an essential tool to identify and delineate all contemporary manifestations of this age-old bigotry.

A diverse array of international institutions and organizations, national and local governments, NGOs, universities, athletic clubs and corporations are now using it as a framework for recognizing modern-day iterations of antisemitism, training and educational programs, and policymaking initiatives.

Some additions to the growing list of those adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism are the Philippines, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuscany, Italy, City University of New York, University of Pittsburgh, the Florida Democratic Party and Lufthansa Airlines.

Notably, with antisemitism on the rise and increasingly becoming mainstream in the US, many more American cities and states have adopted the IHRA definition at a critical turning point and as a first step in taking serious action against Jew hatred.

The largest category for new adoptions and endorsements in 2022 were non-federal government entities, including municipalities, counties and state and provincial governments, with 58 in total, including 32, or 55% of them, in the US.

Jacksonville Council Members Set to Introduce Legislation Against Antisemitic Light Projections

A picture circulating online shows another antisemitic sign plastered prominently in Downtown Jacksonville and now several council members are taking action. 

Council member Rory Diamond says he will file a bill this week aiming to prevent symbols of hate from being projected on private property while other council members are getting involved, hoping to pass similar bills.

"Considering that Jacksonville keeps on being attacked by these messages, clearly, we have to get together, get to the root of it and stop it," Diamond said. 

The latest message is a swastika projected onto the CSX building in Downtown Jacksonville. The NGO StopAntisemitism tweeted out another incident by the same group responsible - NSF - happened that evening as well.

"You don't have a right to put a bumper sticker on somebody else's car, you don't have a right to project an image on somebody else's building," Diamond said. 

He isn't the only one stepping forward. Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci says he and mayoral candidate Leanna Cumber will be introducing legislation Wednesday that would make it unlawful for someone to project an image on city property without express approval.

In a statement CSX says it "condemns in the strongest terms the antisemitic symbol depicted in the images of our building on January 14."   

Diamond expects his bill will earn support from other members. Once it is filed, he says the public will be able to participate in a series of discussions to improve its language.

Tennessee Bill Prohibiting Antisemitic Content in Schools Moves Through House

House Bill HB2673 will require each local education agency to adopt a policy that prohibits teaching students’ antisemitic concepts and distribute the policy to each faculty member at the beginning of each school year.

Colorado Pension Fund Drops $42 Million in Ben & Jerry's Pension Assets

Colorado’s state pension fund will divest a $42 million investment in Unilever after the company’s Ben and Jerry’s subsidiary took illegal economic action against Israel.