INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers spent Friday passing dozens of bills.
One of them was House Bill 1002 that dealt with defining antisemitism at the state’s public institutions of higher education.
Earlier in the session, the House and Senate passed different versions of this bill.
A sticking point was whether the bill should reference the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and its definition of antisemitism, a definition already used by 35 states and the federal government, along with 45 countries.
The original version of the bill, which started in the House, referenced the IHRA, its definition of antisemitism, and various contemporary examples of antisemitism.
Critics of the original bill argued it would limit free speech and criticism of the state of Israel.
The Senate passed a different version, which did not reference the IHRA or its definition, a move many in the Jewish Community did not support.
The final version of the bill restored the IHRA reference and its definition of antisemitism and was passed unanimously in the House and by a vote of 45-1.
"The bipartisan support demonstrates that hate is not a political issue," said Caryl Auslander, representing the Jewish Community Relations Council. "We feel very strongly that this will make a very strong statement against hate in the State of Indiana against Jews.
"This legislation, once passed into law, will help be a tool for educators for our institutions of higher education, our K through 12 schools to be able to better define and learn what antisemitism is, in the hopes to be able to eradicate it in the future, "Auslander said.
Before Friday’s vote on House Bill 1002, Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-District 86, called the vote an important moment.
"The goal is to make our students and our people feel safe and secure and welcomed in our society," said DeLaney, calling the Jewish community one of the oldest recognized groups in Western civilization. "They have suffered longer and harder with the issue of intolerance than any other group in Western society ... "But we need to recognize there’s a new group too coming to our country and in other parts of Western society, our friends who are of the Muslim faith.
"I suggest we now turn our attention to make sure they feel comfortable, welcome and safe," Delaney added, later telling 13 News his comments were indicative of conversations that had already started to that end.
The Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network issued a statement on the passage of House Bill 1002, which said:
"Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network is pleased to see the passage of HB 1002 which aims to protect our Hoosier Jewish communities without restricting freedom of speech. We are thankful to members of the Indiana General Assembly who spent time listening and working with multiple communities to make sure the contemporary examples accompanied by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, were stricken from the bill."
The reservations surrounding these examples stemmed from majority of the examples defining certain criticisms of Israel as antisemitic, which could have been used to stifle free speech in schools and on college campuses. We are thankful for our community partners who worked alongside us on this bill and for every group involved in the legislative process. Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network will continue to stand firmly against antisemitism and hate in our Hoosier communities and continue to monitor freedom of speech concerns in schools and college campuses."
The bill now heads to Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk for consideration.