Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu at the American Conservation Coalition’s 2022 Summit at the JW Marriott Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2022
(JNS) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill into law recently that uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of Jew-hatred.
SB 508, which addresses “enforcement of New Hampshire anti-discrimination laws as they relate to Jewish people,” codifies both the IHRA working definition and its contemporary examples, which includes “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”
Eliana Goodman, director of public policy at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, stated that the bill will “safeguard the Jewish community in New Hampshire and reinforce the state’s commitment to combating antisemitism in all its forms.”
“New Hampshire joins a growing number of states to take legislative action against the surge in antisemitic hatred targeting Jewish Americans and is among the super majority of U.S. states to have embraced the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism,” Goodman added.
“With antisemitism having exploded worldwide post-Oct. 7, the IHRA definition remains a tool of paramount importance for helping identify and quell the mounting tide of antisemitism as Jews around the world desperately seek assurances for their own safety,” stated Jordan Cope, director of policy education at StandWithUs.
“New Hampshire’s moral clarity on this matter sets a clear example for New England from which other states ought to draw inspiration,” Cope said.
