Shared via Quincy for a Free Palestine - The Massachusetts Senate has recently introduced a back-door effort to impose an Israel-aligned version of fighting antisemitism in public education across the state.
This time the attempt comes in the form of an amendment to the state budget called a Budget Amendment Addressing Antisemitism.
It is urgent to dismantle the surging antisemitism that is a key element of white supremacy and a rising fascist trend. But this amendment is not the way to do it. Both its content and the undemocratic way it was presented as a budget amendment are problematic.
As currently written, this amendment will serve to mandate that curricula, teacher education, “hate” crimes, and “hostile environment” claims are Israel-aligned, potentially using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as the standard for what counts as antisemitism. The IHRA definition includes the idea that criticism of the state of Israel is antisemitic. This amendment is a Trojan horse, sneaking Israel's agenda in through an innocuous-sounding amendment.
THIS LETTER is being sent by representatives from Massachusetts Peace Action, Jewish Voice for Peace - Boston, and the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine to the conference committee reconciling the budget asking them not to make such an important policy decision through an amendment process rather than with full legislative hearings and an opportunity for stakeholders to participate. The letter details the many problems with the process and with the amendment.
They have asked for organizations and individuals to sign on in support . Quincy for a Free Palestine is signing on, and we encourage everyone who receives this email to sign on.
Unfortunately, the timeline for derailing this amendment is very short. The budget must be submitted to the Governor by June 20. They need to get the full list of signatories to the letter to the committee by Monday, June 17.
PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM to add your signature.
The form is a little confusing.
You can read the LETTER here.
Then if you want to sign on, click the "NEXT" button twice at the bottom of the form to get to the page for individuals to sign on.
DEADLINE: Monday, June 17 noon