Local Governments in US Pass Measures to Address Antisemitism as Anti-Jewish Crimes Mount

Local governments in two states which annually hold the negative distinction of being listed in the highest ranks of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) “Antisemitic Incidents By State” report recently took major steps towards combating anti-Jewish hatred.

In Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb outside the city of Chicago, the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance on Monday, voting 7-0, to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — becoming the first city government in Illinois to do so. According to the Jewish civil rights group, StandWithUs, the definition will be applied to “employment and anti-discrimination” policies.

IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US and Israel — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.

According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.

“Antisemitism is surging — across the world, across our nation, and right here in Highland Park,” StandWithUs director of policy outreach Peggy Shapiro said in a statement on Monday. “This legislation is a critical first step in the fight against the rise of antisemitism nationwide. In order to combat this hatred, we must first clearly define it. Highland Park’s adoption of the IHRA definition is especially significant, given its location within the greater Chicago area, which has recently experienced a staggering 58 percent increase in antisemitic hate crimes.”

Just two months ago, Highland Park saw a disturbing incident in which an antisemitic letter threatening  violence was mailed to a resident’s home. So severe were its contents that the FBI and the Illinois Terrorism and Intelligence Center were called to the scene to establish that there was no imminent danger. Later, the local government shuttered all religious institutions as a precautionary measure.

On Monday, Highland Park City Council member Annette Lidawer said the city is now better equipped to respond to antisemitism, adding, “Not only do we condemn all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism, but we can now identify such behavior in order to combat it and to teach others to do the same.”

In Massachusetts, in which the ADL recorded the fifth most antisemitic incidents in the US in 2023, a Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism (SCCA) convened by the state legislature on Friday endorsed a spate of recommendations offered for combating antisemitism in the K-12 public school system.

According to the SCCA, Jewish students and educators both have been subjected to “hate, bullying, harassment, and discrimination.” It recommended holding lessons on “antisemitic tropes and myths,” creating news programs for the observance of Jewish American Heritage Month, and facilitating the reporting of antisemitic incidents with a new, statewide reporting system.

“As a state, Massachusetts is committed to doing everything we can to address antisemitism,” Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll said on Tuesday in a joint statement. “That starts in our schools. If we want to combat antisemitism and protect the members of our Jewish community, it starts with educating our children, building a better understanding of the Jewish experience, and making it clear that antisemitism has no place in Massachusetts.”

Local government policy has come into focus as Jewish civil rights groups implore lawmakers to take concerted action against antisemitism in their communities.

On Friday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) launched the Jewish Policy Index (JPI), a “first interactive tool of its kind” for evaluating the efficacy of policies that US states have adopted to combat antisemitism.

JPI has already identified both positive and negative trends. Nine states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia — have all passed legislation to address a surge of antisemitic discrimination and violence across the country, earning a JPI designation as “Leading States.” But, the ADL noted, 41 other states failed to merit the distinction.

The distribution of the first JPI ratings forms a bell curve, with most states, 29, clustered in the middle, having been classified as “Progressing States” which have adopted “some key pieces of the policy agenda” the ADL recommends. Twelve received the poorest mark, “Limited Action States,” for showing “little systematic effort to address antisemitism through policy.”

The ADL and its partners say the JPI can facilitate democratic action which “empowers residents” to challenge their states to fight antisemitism with vigor.

“Jewish communities know that if we are to flourish through difficult times, we must mobilize to fight antisemitism,” Eric Fingerhut, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federations of North America, said in a statement. “The most important responsibility of government is keeping its citizens safe. The Jewish Policy Index is an important tool to help inform and advance how state governments respond to antisemitism and protect their Jewish communities.”

The advent of JPI comes on the heels of harrowing new FBI statistics which reveal the extent to which violent antisemitism has become a pervasive occurrence in American life.

While hate crimes against other demographic groups declined overall last year, those perpetrated against Jews increased by 5.8 percent in 2024 to 1,938, the largest total recorded in over 30 years of the FBI’s counting them. Jewish American groups noted that this surge, which included 178 assaults, is being experienced by a demographic group which constitutes just 2 percent of the US population.

Additionally, a striking 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes that were reported to the FBI in 2024 targeted Jews, with 2,041 out of 2,942 total such incidents being antisemitic in nature. Muslims, the second most targeted religious group, were victims in 256 offenses, or about 9 percent of the total.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.