2024 -- S 2482

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LC004476

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONDEMNING ANTISEMITISM IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND BEYOND

     Introduced By: Senators Zurier, Bell, Miller, and Kallman

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

     WHEREAS, Antisemitism, 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 U.S. Department of State adopted the following definition of

antisemitism: “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, who make up

only 2 percent of the country’s population, but against whom antisemitic hate crimes accounted

for 9.6 percent of all hate crimes reported in 2022 according to an FBI report; 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, On October 7, 2023, Hamas committed horrific atrocities in Israel, causing

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, Polling released by the Jewish Federations of North America on November

7 found that 74 percent of American Jews believe there is a lot of anti-Semitism in the United

States today; and

     WHEREAS, Institutions and community organizations have a responsibility to protect

citizens from acts of hate and bigotry, including antisemitism; and

     WHEREAS, The White House has released the first ever comprehensive plan to counter

antisemitism in the United States, providing valuable tools to inform more accurate reporting,

investigation, and policymaking and increase understanding on the rise of antisemitism in the

country; and

     WHEREAS, The White House plan includes language indicating the impact of hate and

bigotry on all Americans: “Antisemitism threatens not only the Jewish community, but all

Americans. People who peddle these antisemitic 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, RI. 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 Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby condemns and rejects

antisemitism and strongly stands against hate, bias or violence based on identity. We moreover

remain committed to the principles of nondiscrimination and human rights, and reaffirm 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 a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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