March 12, 2024
Dear Governor Holcomb,
I am writing as President of the Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana (JAACI) to request that
the Governor veto HEA 1002. Although JAACI drafted the original bill authored by Representative Jeter
the purpose of the legislation was to protect Jewish students from virulent antisemitism in our educational institutions in the guise of relentless and vicious attacks on Israel. We appreciate the efforts of legislators supporting the original HB 1002. Incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into HB 1002 made clear the nexus between antisemitism and the examples of anti-Israel activity prevalent in schools and university campuses. Unfortunately, a last minute change in the legislation undermined the original intention of HB 1002 making the reference to IHRA meaningless, while giving support to the enemies of the Jewish people and Israel. The legislation as it stands does nothing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism posing as anti-Israel rhetoric and action.
Since the Hamas terrorist massacre of October 7, 2023, Jew hatred has exploded in our schools and
universities. The old Jewish blood libel now appears in the form of charges that Israelis commit genocide
and ethnic cleansing and harvest the organs of murdered Palestinians. The old version of Jewish world
domination has now become the charge that Zionists control American foreign policy, money, and media.
The Nazi cry for a “Judenfrei” Germany (Germany free of Jews) is now the cry of “from river to sea
Palestine will be free.” Jew haters masked as anti-Zionists also attempt to redefine Judaism and
Jewishness by denying the unique, unbreakable, and millennia old bond between the Jewish people and
the land of Israel that is an essential part of Jewish religion, history, and culture. The very groups opposing the original HB 1002 now strongly support the amended version of HB 1002
because they believe it provides cover for their attacks on Israel and the Jewish community here in
Indiana. Ironically, the strongest groups promoting the new antisemitism are among the strongest
supporters of the legislation.
JAACI joins national Jewish organizations and the Indiana Jewish community in urging Governor
Holcomb to veto this legislation and instead issue an Executive Order adopting the IHRA working
definition of antisemitism.
Dr. Allon Friedman
President, Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana