I want to share my concerns about HB18, a bill that inserts the word “ethnicity” into the existing Hate Crimes bill. The bill purports to safeguard all Virginians from unlawful discrimination, a laudable intent with which I strongly agree. However, the placement of “ethnicity” into the Hate Crime law could have far-reaching and perhaps not immediately obvious consequences. The bill would prohibit unlawful discrimination because of, among other things, ethnic or national origin. Discrimination targeting people of Jewish ethnicity is commonly known as antisemitism. Antisemitism, as adopted in the Virginia code last year, has a very specific definition, one based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA WDA). That definition gives examples of certain types of criticism of the state of Israel and labels them antisemitic. One of those examples includes: • Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor, ie accusing it of being an apartheid state; This seems to mean, if this bill were to be adopted, that under certain circumstances, a person criticizing the state of Israel could be accused of a hate crime. What circumstances? Lines 27-30 of the bill state: “Conduct that violates any Virginia or federal statute or regulation governing discrimination on the basis of . . . ethnic or national origin is unlawful discriminatory practice under this chapter.” Does that mean, if I were to carry a protest sign in a (Virginia) public place that says “End Israeli Apartheid” under this bill, in combination with the IHRA Definition, I could be charged with a hate crime? In the section entitled Liability for Defamatory Material on the Internet beginning at line 216 it says, “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be liable for (i) Any action taken by it voluntarily in good faith to restrict access to, or availability of, material that the provider considers to be . . . harassing or intended to incite hatred . . . on the basis of race . . . ethnic or national origin, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected, or (ii) Any action taken to enable, or make available to information content providers or others, the technical means to restrict access to the information provided by another information content provider. What are the implications of this section? Could an internet provider, say a college, be asked to prohibit internet access to the apartheid findings of multiple human rights organizations, based on the example in the IHRA definition that deems referring to Israeli apartheid as antisemitic? Or could a high school teacher be prohibited from assigning digital material by Ta-Nehisi Coates and others because it discusses racism and a student finds it uncomfortable? This bill appears to be an insidious broadening of ways to accuse people of hate crimes and stifle important learning and expressions of criticism about difficult and uncomfortable topics. I ask that you look closely at this bill and consider all its implications. Sincerely, Kathy Drinkard Springfield, VA

Good afternoon! My name is Amy Melnick-Scharf, Chair of the Legislative Committee for the Jewish Community Relations Committee at the Jewish Federation of Richmond. I am here today on behalf of several Jewish Federations throughout the Commonwealth. I am here to thank the bi-partisan Patrons of HB18 A bill relating to hate crimes and discrimination adding ethnicity. This bill, when passed, will ensure and safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in public because of one’s ethnic origin. For new members of the Committee and the House, this legislation passed the House last year, and in the Senate, similar legislation overwhelmingly passed the Senate. The session ended without achieving a compromise. The Jewish Community Federation strongly supports this legislation which will strengthen the Commonwealth’s hate crime laws. This legislation adds the word ethnic to the list of protected classes, which also includes race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and national origin. Ethnicity a collective identity which often includes the belief in a common history and origin and may include shared traditions, language, and religion. An ethnic group consists of a shared common culture based on cultural, historical, linguistic, and unique historical and social experiences. Examples include Sikh’s, Han Chinese, Zulu, Kurds, Basques, and the Jewish people of which I am a part. It's essential to note that the perception and definition of ethnicity can vary widely among different societies and individuals-even among the ethnicity. As a Jewish person-this is my religion; but it is also my ethnicity. There are many Jews who are non-white, who speak a variety of languages and who do not practice the religion at all, or who practice it very differently; however we are all ethnically Jewish. While this legislation is not about any single community, nor does it name any specific community and nor should it – this bill will ensure that that Jewish individuals are included in Virginia’s laws against discrimination and assault regardless of whether they identify or are targeted based on Judaism’s religious or ethnic aspects. As we have seen in recent months with the increase in antisemitism, which according to the FBI has risen over 300% since October 7th, often Jewish people are targets of hatred because of their ethnic identity regardless of their level of religious observance. Thank you for your support of HB18.

Please vote NO on HB18. Adding the word “ethnicity” will not prevent antisemitism, nor strengthen the Hate Crimes bill. It could potentially infringe on the freedom of religion by policing the ways in which antisemitism is viewed by the Commonwealth, and by allowing the prosecution of Jews who disavow Zionism. Again, please vote NO on HB18.

HB18 is literally selling the soul of our state to Israel

Please VOTE NO - do not approve adding "Ethnic Animosity". The definition of ethnicity is vague and can be confused, misused, and abused. VOTE NO on HB 18.

The addition of "ethnic animosity" is a very broad term and could easily be abused and actually used to stifle free speech and in this case expanded to charge someone with a hate crime. This is extremely problematic due to the current incorrect definition of antisemitism by the IHRA and the state of Virginia which unfortunately conflates criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism which it is not. I would be concerned if you add "ethnic animosity" that criticizing the state of Israel could be found to be discriminatory against an ethnic group, given the way that Virginia and the IHRA has chosen to define antisemitism. For example: I would be concerned that if a person at a rally to ask the state of Israel to stop killing Palestinians, that if that if things became physical, and the person who was at the rally was charged with simple assault against someone there was Jewish that they would also be charged with a hate crime. Ethnicity is one aspect of someone who is Jewish. Adding these words to the bill could of course be used very confusing because "ethnicity" is too broad a term and also hard to determine what someone's ethnicity is. Please VOTE NO - do not approve adding "Ethnic Animosity".

HB18 is a bill that echoes multiple past Supreme Court cases in which overly ambiguous hate-speech aimed laws have been overturned for their unconstitutionality- not even touching on their ineffectiveness. I speak as a Jew who will not allow the beliefs of zionism to speak for me. Jews are protected in America, and have been for many decades. If the safety of a people depends on the existence of a foreign nature then that safety is a lie- bread and circuses. This bill goes against the right to free speech as strongly as any I have ever seen. History remembers the killers.

I would like to note that not only does HB18 attack free speech, it could potentially infringe the freedom of religion by policing the ways in which antisemitism is viewed by the commonwealth. The logical conclusion of this bill is that the commonwealth could persecute Jews for practicing Judaism in a way that challenges and discredits zionism and the israeli state.

Please vote no on HB18. HB 18 safeguards all Virginians from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination because of ethnicity. However, this language (ethnicity) directly ties the bill to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which was placed in the code last year and conflates discrimination against persons of Jewish heritage with criticism of Israel. This bill would in effect make it possible to charge someone who criticizes Israel's practices and policies with a hate crime, based on the IHRA's definition of antisemitism otherwise understood as discrimination of the Jewish ethnic group, thus silencing that criticism. There is plenty of evidence that the IHRA definition is being used in the US and in Europe to do just that. Please refer to the following reports that suggest how the IHRA definition is being used. https://imeu.org/article/imeu-policy-analysis-9-ihra-definition-silences-speech-for-palestinian-righ https://palestinelegal.org/distorted-definition https://elsc.support/news/breaking-new-report-reveals-human-rights-violations-resulting-from-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism Unless it can be guaranteed that this bill can't be used to charge Israel's critics with hate crimes and silence criticism, it should not be adopted.

Vote NO on HB18. It is a direct assault on the constitutional right of free speech. We need more, not less, protection for citizens to express their views openly and without fear of reprisal and discrimination. If passed, this bill would open the door to discrimination against persons who are critical of Israel’s policies, including, it should be added, Jews. It could, in other words, be invoked to discriminate against a religious minority. This is awful. We must hold fast to the separation of church and state. This bill does the opposite. Vote NO on HB18.

Please vote NO on HB18 - extremely misleading attempt at suppressing the rights of Palestinians and other suppressed peoples from defending their rights to exist and free speech in general. Also absolutely unconstitutional.

This is unconstitutional and if you vote for it you will very likely be held liable in the future. This is an attack on free speech and if you champion free speech/democracy your morally obligated to vote no on this otherwise you will be a hypocrite. Also Helmer if Israeli lobby is telling you what to do then you are a power hungry individual who needs to reevaluate and i hope you can never sleep at night again thanks for your time

HB18 attacks freedom of speech. Further, it allows for discrimination against religious practitioners. Israel and Judaism are not synonymous. Israel is political, and Judaism is religious. But this bill could allow for the discrimination of Jewish people who do not align with Israel’s politics. What happened to the separation of church and state? I understand wanting to protect Jewish people, but this may actively target some Jewish people while it claims to protect a minority. Vote NO on HB18.

The Commonwealth does not have the right to interfere with Jewish people's criticisms of other Jewish people, or label intercommunity strife as discrimination. This law does not protect from religious discrimination, only punishes the wrong kinds of religious expressions.

Please vote NO on HB 18. This bill attacks free speech, and could potentially infringe the freedom of religion. VOTE NO! Thank you!!

I urge all the members of this committee to vote against HB 18 - “Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity, penalties.” Although at face value this bill seems fairly innocuous, the consequences of this bill are questionable and therefore the General Assembly should study it further before taking any further action on it. The problem is that the current language of the bill could be construed to include the weaponized "IHRA definition of antisemitism" which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2023, and includes criticism of a foreign government, which is constitutionally protected free speech. Therefore, unless the IHRA definition is removed from the code, HB 18 could impose unconstitutional restrictions on free speech in Virginia, if passed. For this reason, I urge this committee to reject HB 18 at this time, to protect free speech in Virgina.

I am deeply concerned about the contents of the proposed bill HB18 and its potential consequences for members and residents of the Commonwealth. This bill is a direct attempt to dismantle free speech within the Commonwealth, and should be voted down immediately and in perpetuity. Not only would this bill would allow the IHRA working definition of antisemitism to be used in prosecution, but the language is so ambiguous and vague that it could come to mean no Virginian is allowed to criticize any foreign state representing ethnic majorities. From a personal perspective, as a proud and active lifelong member of Congregation Beth Ahabah, the third oldest and and fourth largest congregation on the East Coast, I can say with confidence that this bill will NOT protect Jews in the commonwealth. All it will do is limit free speech and political dissident. In fact, setting such dangerous precedent would put more Jews in harms way and potentially add on to already real and present hurt and harm directed at our community. The continued conflation of all Jews to the modern state of Israel is both deeply disrespectful and incredibly dangerous. It teaches those who may be unfamiliar or unaware of Jewish practice that all Jews, regardless of nationality, have an allegiance to the foreign modern state of Israel thus perpetuating an age-old anti-Jewish trope that we cannot be trusted or seen as equal countrymen. Currently, the modern state of Israel that I, and most Jews, have been aligned with arguably without consent and, in some cases, against our collective will, is dominating the world stage because of the violence it is inflicting upon Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. They continue to do so despite the overwhelming calls for ceasefires being heard around the world and within this commonwealth. Such violence is being perpetuated by a regime that is intentionally parroting Jewish words, phrases, and stories in order to not only shield its true intent of white supremacy behind the traumatic lineage of world Jewry, but to send a message to all governments, who again may or may not be familiar with Judaism, that the current actions being taken by Israel are not only to protect itself but to protect the entirety of the Jewish Population. If protecting Jews in the commonwealth is a goal of this legislature, may I ask how this bill aids in that pursuit? From where I, and many other Jews like myself, stand taking a position in favor of HB18 sends a message that we are not acceptable as "Jew" in the eyes of this legislature seeing as we refuse to stand in support of a debatably genocidal, and certain apartheid state and its regime. This sets a precedent that quite frankly, none of us are capable of making as it changes the ways in which the Jews are permitted to practice our religion. As far as I am concerned, HB18 impacts the freedom of religion just as much as it does the freedom of speech. In looking to my so-called leaders in this legislature, I see such dissonance between you all and your constituents. There are genuine instances of hate in this commonwealth that have yet to be fully addressed and can be traced all the way back to our creation as a colony in 1607. You have the choice to be addressing those deep inequalities and inequities, and instead make the choice to police how residents of this commonwealth speak and practice our faiths. Vote NO to HB18 and all bills that aim to attack valid criticisms of foreign states.

Comments Document

ADL strongly supports HB18. We have provided a written statement as to the incredibly increase in antisemitic incidents impacting our community. HB18 is an important step to combat hate and bias.

So wonderful to see us finally cracking down on guardians and conservators. Well done! Also glad to see us crack down on hate crimes especially if we’re going to continue fueling the disastrous Applied Behavioral Analysis. There must be guard rails. So thank you Dan. And as for HB81, I wish that had become law years ago! I nearly took my life twice. Now you’re going to rub salt in the scar?