The Israeli-American Coalition for Action (IAC For Action) today applauded New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s groundbreaking executive order establishing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as the legal standard for determining when unlawful discriminatory conduct is motivated by antisemitism.
New Mexico is the first state to integrate IHRA into law via executive order, and the sixth state overall to incorporate IHRA into law. Florida, South Carolina, Iowa, Arizona and Tennessee enacted laws using IHRA through legislation. Twenty-two other states have endorsed the IHRA definition as an educational tool, through resolutions or executive orders (Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming).
The most widely accepted definition of antisemitism worldwide, the IHRA states that while not all criticism of Israel is antisemitic, some criticism can cross the line into antisemitism when delegitimizing, demonizing, or applying double standards to Israel.
Over 865 governments and major public entities have endorsed IHRA in recent years, including the US Departments of Education, Justice, and State. Fifty-one of the 53 Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations members have also endorsed IHRA.
“IAC for Action applauds Governor Grisham for not only recognizing IHRA, but for implementing it in order to ensure equal protections from discrimination for Jewish victims. We are grateful to see that Jewish and Israeli-Americans are not left to contend with incidents of antisemitic hatred alone,” said IAC for Action Board Chairman Shawn Evenhaim.
Evenhaim also thanked the organization Stand With Us “for their leading role in resourcing the governor with this effective policy model, which we expect to see utilized by governors and legislatures all around the country.”
Together with Stand With Us and other legal experts, IAC for Action helped lead the development of this legislative model and helped implement its adoption in Florida, Iowa, South Carolina, Arizona and Tennessee.
