Florida Senate passed Antisemitism bill

Florida Senate unanimously passes bill to define antisemitism

'When there is hateful behavior against anyone, it can quickly become a societal endemic,' Sen. Lori Berman says

She said the bill doesn't infringe on free speech rights and doesn't prevent people from criticizing Israel as it would any other country. But by having it in law, it will allow law enforcement to use it when prosecuting hate crimes.

Members of the Senate voted unanimously for a bill (HB 187) that would define antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” and rhetorical and manifestations of such hatred “directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals, their property, community institutions and religious facilities.”

Florida would become the 13th state in the U.S. to comprehensively apply the definition, which the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) adopted in 2016. Florida law already includes it, but it’s tucked away in an education-specific portion of statutes.

HB 187