Gov. Glenn Youngkin hosted an event Monday attended by leaders of Jewish faith and community, a bill supporters say will help Virginia better track and combat rising instances of anti-Semitism. formally signed.
Virginia will adopt the definition of anti-Semitism used by the International Holocaust Memorial Alliance under a bill that takes effect July 1. The state uses non-binding definitions for training and education, and anti-Semitism tracking and reporting.
“Hate can be clearly defined, and that’s exactly what this bill does,” Youngkin told an audience gathered outside an executive mansion in Richmond. We can build a better future.”
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The bill, the recommendation of a committee chaired by former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, was drafted by Youngkin on his first day in office.
Recent data, reports and studies show that anti-Semitism is on the rise in the United States and shows little signs of abating globally.
Earlier this year, a new survey by the American Jewish Commission found that more than 4 in 10 American Jews feel their status is less secure than it was a year ago.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on April 27, 2023. Youngkin hosted an event on Monday to sign legislation aimed at helping states better track and combat instances of anti-Semitism. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
The definition Virginia plans to adopt is that anti-Semitism is “a particular perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred of them” and can have “rhetorical and physical expressions.” It partially states that it can. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental organization of which the United States is a member, adopted this definition in 2016.
At the time the bill passed, the militant anti-Semitic movement said Virginia would become the 30th state in the United States to approve the definition either through the legislative process or an executive order.
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Concerns that some dissenters may lead to anti-Semitic allegations against Israeli government critics after disagreements over whether some Democrats will actually achieve sponsors’ stated goals , the bill eventually cleared the House and Senate with fairly broad bipartisan support.
Democratic Rep. Eileen Filler Cohn, who previously served as the House’s first Jewish speaker, was one of the bill’s vocal supporters. Mr Yonkin thanked her in her remarks on Monday and expressed her disappointment that her bill did not pass unanimously.
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Youngkin also announced May 2023 as Jewish American Heritage Month, honoring Holocaust survivor Halina Zim who was in attendance.
Attorney General Jason Miyares, who made a nine-day trip to Israel and Poland earlier this year, where he visited Auschwitz, was among other elected officials who spoke at Monday’s event. He cited a “surprising” study that showed that even the most basic understanding of the Holocaust was lacking.
“It’s up to us, the living, to remember the legacy of the past and, indeed, the horror of what happened before us,” Miyares said.
