| R 069 |
| 2024 -- H 7417 Enacted 02/01/2024 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CONDEMNING ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND BEYOND |
Introduced By: Representatives Ackerman, Finkelman, Boylan, Shekarchi, Knight, Blazejewski, Kazarian, Kennedy, Edwards, and McNamara |
| Date Introduced: February 01, 2024 |
| WHEREAS, Anti-Semitism, which includes harassment on the basis of actual or |
| perceived Jewish origin, ancestry, ethnicity, identity, affiliation, or religious faith, remains a |
| persistent, pervasive, and disturbing problem in American society; and |
| WHEREAS, In 2010, the United States Department of State adopted the following |
| definition of anti-Semitism: “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be |
| expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are |
| directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish |
| community institutions and religious facilities”; and |
| WHEREAS, Jews continue to be a targeted minority in the United States and are |
| consistently the most likely of all religious groups to be victimized by incidents of hate. Jews |
| make up only 2 percent of the country’s population, yet anti-Semitic hate crimes accounted for |
| 9.6 percent of all hate crimes reported in 2022 according to an FBI report. Furthermore, the attack |
| on Israel on October 7 and resulting conflict has caused anti-Semitic events in America to |
| increase by 388 percent per the Anti-Defamation League’s latest reports, including local incidents |
| of leafletting, vandalism, and verbal harassment; and |
| WHEREAS, Eleven worshippers were killed and several others were injured in the |
| deadliest attack against the American Jewish community at the Tree of Life Synagogue in |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2018; and |
| WHEREAS, The attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 7, 2023, in Israel, |
| marked the murder of Jews in numbers not seen since the Holocaust, and testimonies of sexual |
| violence, beheadings, burnings and other horrific acts perpetrated by Hamas have been emerging |
| as Israelis begin to process the trauma; and |
| WHEREAS, According to Hillel International, since the terrorist attack on Israel by |
| Hamas on October 7, 2023, anti-Semitic incidents against Jewish students on college campuses |
| have reached alarmingly high rates, increasing by 700 percent over the same period last year; and |
| WHEREAS, Institutions and community organizations have a responsibility to protect |
| citizens from acts of hate and bigotry; and |
| WHEREAS, The White House has released the first ever comprehensive plan to counter |
| anti-Semitism in the United States, providing valuable tools to inform more accurate reporting, |
| investigation, and policymaking and increase understanding on the rise of anti-Semitism in the |
| country; and |
| WHEREAS, The White House plan includes language indicating the impact of hate and |
| bigotry on all Americans: “Anti-Semitism threatens not only the Jewish community, but all |
| Americans. People who peddle these anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and fuel racial, ethnic, and |
| religious hatred against Jews also target other communities---including Black and Brown |
| Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders; LGBTQI+ individuals; |
| Muslim Americans, women and girls; and so many others”; and |
| WHEREAS, The State of Rhode Island is home to the United States’ oldest synagogue, |
| Touro Synagogue in Newport. In 1790, George Washington wrote a letter to the congregation in |
| Newport extolling the virtues of Rhode Island as a home for religious plurality that “gives bigotry |
| no sanction”; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island does |
| hereby proclaim a condemnation of anti-Semitism and strongly stands against hate, bias or |
| violence based on identity and remains committed to the principles of nondiscrimination and |
| human rights; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this House hereby condemns and rejects anti-Semitism and reaffirms |
| our community as a safe and affirming one for people of all religions and identities; and be it |
| further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Governor of the State of Rhode |
| Island, Daniel J. McKee, the Honorable Attorney General of the State of Rhode Island, Peter |
| Neronha, and the Regional Director of the New England Anti-Defamation League, |
| Rabbi Dr. Jonah Sternberg. |
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| LC003851 |
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