North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has signed legislation that places an official definition of antisemitism into state law. Bill critics said the measure could stifle speech of Israel's critics.
A bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers has approved a bill codifying a definition of antisemitism into law. A nearly unanimous House voted Wednesday in favor of the SHALOM Act, which adopts the definition provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Republican House Speaker Tim Moore sponsored the bill. He says that it could guide educators and help law enforcement agencies and local prosecutors to determine whether someone should be charged under hate crime laws already on the books. Some critics say the bill could stifle political dissent against Israel amid the war in Gaza. Four Democrats voted against the legislation.
President Biden spoke out against harassment of Jewish students on college campuses, part of what he called a "ferocious surge of antisemitism" seen since Oct. 7.
A North Carolina man is charged with mailing an antisemitic threat to a rabbi in Georgia. A federal indictment unsealed Thursday says that Macon Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar received a threatening postcard in February after she testified before Georgia lawmakers to support defining antisemitism in state law.
A report from the American Jewish Committee finds that 93% of American Jews say antisemitism is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem in the U.S. That's up significantly from a year ago.
Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, feels different this year because of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. More Jews were killed that day than on any single day since the Holocaust.
Greensboro police have charged 22-year-old Nile Christian Harvey in connection with the vandalism of a Holocaust memorial in LaBauer Park, where a swastika was drawn on the sculpture.
Liz Magill's resignation comes days after congressional testimony by her and other university presidents drew fierce backlash. Scott Bok, the chair of the university's board of trustees, also quit.
Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Harris, is the highest-level official to criticize the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania for their testimony this week.
