Antisemitism is on the rise. Here's how the West is reacting

Yahoo

3 days ago

President Donald Trump condemned the attack in Boulder, Colorado, on a group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The police arrested a man who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails and used a makeshift flamethrower on a crowd of 20 people. The suspect, disguised as a gardener, yelled 'free Palestine' during the attack, according to eyewitnesses. He faces hate crime charges in federal court, according to The Associated Press.
Twelve people suffered injuries.
Trump on Monday said the attack 'will not be tolerated' and blamed former President Joe Biden's border policies for allowing the suspect to come to the U.S.
Sources at the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News the suspect 'is an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa.'
Trump promised that such 'acts of terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law' before expressing his condolences to the victims and Coloradans.
This is one of the latest high-profile incidents of violence to make headlines.
Late last month, another suspect chanting 'free Palestine' fatally shot two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.
The police identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, a Christian Israeli man, and Sarah Milgrim, a Jewish American woman, as the Deseret News reported.
Antisemitism and political violence are on the rise in the U.S.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, more than 9,350 instances of antisemitism were recorded in 2024, a 344% increase over the past five years.
The White House is putting up a fight against colleges by directly negotiating for more oversight with prestigious educational institutions like Harvard University. The Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism led the fight against Harvard and other universities where antisemitic incidents have been reported.
Several states are also taking note of a rise in hate crimes against American Jews in the U.S. and proposing legislation to address this troubling trend.
In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis, who is Jewish and represented the state in Congress for a decade, condemned the Boulder attack publicly and through a letter signed by more than two dozen state and local leaders.
Here's what other Western states are proposing.
A recent bill from the state House, which was passed in the state Senate, would ban educators in Arizona's public schools and colleges from teaching antisemitism. Teachers and university professors can be held liable if they are found to be teaching or promoting antisemitism.
Rep. Michael Way, a Republican, introduced the bill to make schools a place of learning, 'not breeding grounds for hatred and discrimination,' he said in February.
'Arizona has zero tolerance for antisemitism, and this bill ensures that our classrooms are free from the toxic ideology that fuels division and hostility,' the press release said.
The state's teacher's union wrote a letter to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, opposing the bill, which, they argue, 'strips Arizona public school educators of professional liability protections if they face accusations of antisemitism.'
The letter added the bill doesn't address 'racism, sexism, anti-LDS bias, Islamophobia, or other forms of bigotry.'
HB2867 also does not cover incidents of antisemitism at private schools supported by taxpayer-funded vouchers.
The Democratic-led Nevada Legislature passed a bill that defines antisemitism for discrimination investigations.
The language in the bill, now on the governor's desk, defines antisemitism as '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 uses the widely used definition provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Jolie Brislin, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal this definition 'does not limit free speech or punish criticism of Israel.'
The final vote on the bill came a day after the attack in Boulder.
Two Jewish teenagers from Las Vegas — 15-year-old Ethan Cohen and 14-year-old Meyer Delee — helped put a spotlight on the bills that designate Jan. 27 each year as 'International Holocaust Remembrance Day' and define antisemitism for the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
Like other states in the West, members of California's Legislative Jewish Caucus initially pursued a bill to create standards for what's acceptable coursework for the state's ethnic studies classes. They wanted to prevent students from being exposed to dangerous content in classrooms.
But the caucus shifted strategies and decided to widen the scope by backing a law that strengthens the processing of discrimination complaints to include educators and board members and install an 'antisemitism coordinator' for the state.
'There have been troubling reports of incidents of antisemitism happening within the very spaces meant to foster inclusion and critical thinking,' state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-La Mesa, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, told J-Weekly. Her caucus supports the bill.
'We've heard allegations that some educators and even school board members have made comments that marginalize or exclude Jewish voices.'
Activists who support Palestine said the bill censors people who criticize Israel.