Jewish and Muslim demonstrators call for veto of bill defining antisemitism

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A group of Jewish and Muslim activists protested outside the Governor’s Mansion Thursday evening against a bill that would codify a controversial definition of antisemitism into state law.

Protesters called on Gov. Roy Cooper to veto the bill (labeled by its sponsors as “The Shalom Act”) which critics — including the demonstrators — argue is intended to stifle criticism of Israel.

“HB 942 is a dangerous bill that will deeply undermine democracy and free speech in North Carolina under the guise of Jewish safety,” said Noor Abualhawa, one of the speakers at the rally.

The North Carolina Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill yesterday by a vote of 47-2.

Soon after the Senate vote, the House approved the Senate committee substitute (105-3), thereby sending the bill to the governor’s desk.

If the bill becomes law, North Carolina would, by reference, make the “Working Definition of Antisemitism Adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) on May 26, 2016” the state’s official definition of antisemitism.

Under the definition, several types of criticism directed against Israel, such as “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” would meet the definition.

House Speaker Tim Moore, one of the bill’s chief sponsors, said yesterday at a committee meeting that the measure is a response to a rise in hate speech and attacks on Jewish people.

“We have seen firsthand the violence, the intimidation, the threats that are happening against the Jewish individuals in this state and this country. Some of those have become very violent. Some of those have been more — not physical violence — but more of an intimidation.”

Sandra Korn of Jewish Voice for Peace Triangle NC said the bill is intended to divert attention from what she described as antisemitism in the Republican party.

“It’s designed to confuse and distract from real antisemitism, and particularly the Holocaust denial of our Republican gubernatorial candidate,” said Korn. It’s part of a classic right-wing playbook to suppress dissent and criminalize protests.”

Moore said last month the bill does not create any new criminal penalties related to antisemitism, as state laws against “ethnic intimidation” already exist. But it provides a clear definition of antisemitism for prosecutors and law enforcement. “A prosecutor would look at that and look at the statutes that are already in place and make a determination if that conduct rose to that level.”

Hadeel Hamoud of Muslim Women For, an advocacy organization based in North Carolina, said criticism of Israel is not antisemitism.

“Criticism of a foreign government like you said should never be construed as hatred for an ethnic religious group,” said Hamoud. “If our government truly cared about combating hatred, they would invest in meaningful and community-based ways to combat hatred of all faith groups.”

Yesterday, Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed of Mecklenburg County proposed an amendment to the bill that would have expanded the scope and severity of penalties for hate crimes, created a hate crime database, and required training for law enforcement and prosecutors on identifying and prosecuting hate crimes. Republican members, however, moved successfully to “table” the proposal so that, technically, no vote was taken on the amendment itself.

Mohammed expressed support for the bill but said it doesn’t go far enough to protect other minority groups. “My concern is this bill offers only lip service and fails to provide real protections for our Jewish brothers and sisters, as well as others group other groups subjected to hate crimes and bigotry,” said Mohammed.

“We would be remiss to not acknowledge the truly rising rates of antisemitism in our in our country, which is why we cannot allow this real and serious issue to be coopted only for the purpose of not protecting Jews, but censoring criticism of the State of Israel and suppressing the Palestinian liberation movement,” said Abualhawa.

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