All Statewide Officeholders & Officials of
the Golden State - Time to #AdoptIHRA Now!

Have we not finally seen enough? Can we now finally agree on the necessity to respond to the horrendous rise in hatred toward Jewish Americans that has engulfed our state from the rise of ideologically extremist antisemitism? 

We, as signers of this grassroots petition, implore you to act immediately to ensure that what we have all seen, witnessed, and experienced in recent months - on college campuses, in our streets, and in our public spaces - will not stand. As a powerful indication that you agree, we ask that you pledge to take these three steps right now:

1.  DECLARE that the hatred directed toward the Jewish community of our state that supports Israel - and indeed all others who do so - in recognition that its existence is inseparable from the historically profound exercise of the Jewish people of their right of self-determination, is unacceptable. Such hatred not only imperils lives but also the fabric of our society, as shown by the trance-like fashion in which tens of thousands of young people are disrupting, obstructing and occupying open spaces on college campuses in a manner that is far beyond the exercise of their right of peaceful protest.

2.  ANNOUNCE that you fully support the adoption, on a statewide level, of the Working Definition of Antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA), including its many examples of contemporary antisemitism.[1] This definition makes clear that individuals or groups who feel compelled to denounce, demonize and ostracize not only Israel, but all Jews and others who support Israel, which has become the overarching popular narrative of ideologically extremist activism,[2]  is an obsessive hatred of a single country that is incessantly attacked based on academic theories and ideological narratives, going far beyond "criticism" that is inherently protected political speech. Because that country is Jewish, and because there is no reason to single out that country as opposed to hundreds of others that may be accused of any number of terrible deeds, actions, and policies - but which never are by this crowd - this must be recognized for what it truly is: blatant and virulent antisemitism.

3.  REJECT all efforts to deter recognition of ideologically extremist antisemitism, made by those who claim the IHRA definition insulates Israel from legitimate criticism of its government's actions or policies, as plainly wrong. There is nothing in the definition that prevents such criticism nor is it otherwise in any way inconsistent with free speech rights.[3] There is also a clear line between such legitimate criticism and the rhetoric of those who insist they are unwilling to have any debate at all about the "legitimacy" of Israel; that it must be destroyed; and that all who stand in the way of its destruction are asserting some sort of  "Jewish privilege" or "Jewish supremacy"[4] rather than what the examples of the IHRA definition actually say.

We acknowledge that since the IHRA first published its definition in 2016 - and notwithstanding the fact that it is now widely adopted, recognized, used by dozens of countries, and 31 states around the country, as well as by the U.S. State Department [5] and the by U.S. Department of Education [6] - people who call themselves "anti-Zionists" claim that it threatens their liberties of political association and free speech. This is false as there is nothing in the definition that stops anyone from engaging in criticism of Israel in the manner any other country is normally criticized - but that is not what ideologically extremist antisemitic activists and others have been doing. Such claims are in fact a deliberate attempt to undermine the value of this important tool. The IHRA definition uniquely recognizes the abuse of democratic liberties as a cover to spread antisemitic narratives. The urgent need for adopting this definition derives from the very fact that it places the determination of Israel's haters, seeking its destruction, in a proper light.

No country other than Israel, and those who support it, are subjected to this hateful rhetoric, no matter the nature or extent of its perceived or purported "crimes." Only Israel is singled out for this unending campaign of hyperbolic vitriol ending with a demand that it be wiped off the map. Why? Because Israel - regardless of its actions - has been labeled an enemy of humanity for decades. This should be recognized as antisemitism, whether its free expression (and nothing more) is considered criminal or not.

The IHRA definition allows us to go beyond platitudes and equivocations, defining or debating what is or is not a form of hatred toward Jews. It enables our society to defend the right of Jewish people and all supporters of Israel to express their support openly and tolerantly without being denounced, attacked, and treated with abusive tactics that are meant to marginalize and eventually destroy the right of American citizens to express their opinions and engage in the freedom of their conscience. This freedom has been called the "first liberty" of our Constitution, which protects our right, as American citizens, and as state residents, to express our support of Israel, whether based on ethnic identity, religious belief, or admiration for an amazing accomplishment: the historic realization of the Jewish people of their right of national self-determination in what has long been known to be their ancient homeland.

For more information on this highly important and topical issue, please visit https://www.ihranow.org

Thank you.

THE IHRA NOW Coalition and cosigners

#IHRANow  #IHRADefinition  #AdoptIHRA  #IHRA
#Antisemitism #JewHate
 

[1]  https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism

[2] https://www.isdglobal.org/explainers/far-left-antisemitism/

[3] https://cdn.fedweb.org/fed-14/2/IHRA%2520Tough%2520Questions_v1.pdf

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/nov/29/palestinian-rights-and-the-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism/ 

[5] https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/

[6] www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-titleix-anti-semitism-20210119.pdf?ref=ihranow.org