F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 13C 2023C
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to antisemitism; creating s. 1.015,
3 F.S.; providing legislative intent; defining the term
4 "antisemitism"; providing contemporary examples of
5 antisemitism; providing an effective date.
6
7 WHEREAS, in 1998, Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson
8 initiated the Task Force for International Cooperation on
9 Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research, and
10 WHEREAS, an international forum was held January 27-29,
11 2000, and was attended by representatives of 46 governments,
12 including 23 heads of state or prime ministers and 14 deputy
13 prime ministers or ministers, and
14 WHEREAS, the task force issued the Declaration of the
15 Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, also known as
16 the Stockholm Declaration, and
17 WHEREAS, the Stockholm Declaration is the founding document
18 for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the
19 successor organization to the Task Force for International
20 Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research,
21 and
22 WHEREAS, in 2016, the IHRA adopted a working definition of
23 antisemitism to assist governments, organizations, and
24 individuals in their efforts to identify antisemitism, and
25 WHEREAS, as a part of this working definition, the IHRA
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26 included contemporary examples of antisemitism from around the
27 globe, and
28 WHEREAS, the IHRA's adoption of a working definition has
29 empowered many governments, organizations, and individuals to
30 identify and address the rise in hate and discrimination against
31 Jewish individuals, NOW, THEREFORE,
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Section 1.015, Florida Statutes, is created to
36 read:
37 1.015 Antisemitism.—
38 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to adopt the
39 working definition developed by the International Holocaust
40 Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) of the term "antisemitism" to assist
41 in the monitoring and reporting of anti-Semitic hate crimes and
42 discrimination and to make residents aware of and to combat such
43 incidents in this state.
44 (2) As adopted by the IHRA on May 26, 2016, and as used in
45 these statutes, the term "antisemitism" means a certain
46 perception of Jewish individuals which may be expressed as
47 hatred toward such individuals. Rhetorical and physical
48 manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish and
49 non-Jewish individuals and their property and toward Jewish
50 community institutions and religious facilities.
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51 (3) Contemporary examples of antisemitism include, but are
52 not limited to, all of the following:
53 (a) Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or
54 harming of Jewish individuals in the name of a radical ideology
55 or an extremist view of a religion.
56 (b) Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or
57 stereotypical allegations about Jewish individuals as such or
58 the power of Jewish people as a collective, such as the myth of
59 a worldwide Jewish conspiracy or of Jewish individuals
60 controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal
61 institutions.
62 (c) Accusing Jewish people as a collective of being
63 responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a
64 single Jewish person or group or for acts committed by non -
65 Jewish individuals.
66 (d) Denying the fact, scope, and mechanisms, such as gas
67 chambers, or the intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish
68 people at the hands of Nazi Germany and its supporters and
69 accomplices during the Holocaust.
70 (e) Accusing Jewish people as a collective, or Israel as a
71 state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
72 (f) Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to
73 Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jewish individuals
74 worldwide, than to the interests of their respective nations.
75 (g) Denying the Jewish people their right to self -
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76 determination, such as claiming that the existence of a State of
77 Israel is a racist endeavor.
78 (h) Applying double standards by requiring of the Jewish
79 State of Israel a standard of behavior not expected or demanded
80 of any other democratic nation.
81 (i) Using the symbols and images associated with classic
82 antisemitism, such as claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood
83 libel, to characterize Israel or Israelis.
84 (j) Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to
85 that of the Nazis.
86 (k) Holding Jewish individuals collectively responsible
87 for actions of the State of Israel.
88 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
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