Oklahoma state Senate passes two key bills aimed at safeguarding Jewish students and addressing antisemitism on college campuses. Republican state Senator Kristen Thompson: “Antisemitism has no place in our state.”
The Oklahoma state Senate has passed two key bills aimed at safeguarding Jewish students and addressing antisemitism on college campuses, Republican state Senator Kristen Thompson announced on Tuesday, according to JNS.
“Antisemitism has no place in our state,” said Thompson, who sponsored both bills. “These bills make it clear that Oklahoma stands with our Jewish communities and will not tolerate hatred disguised as political discourse. We are drawing a firm line and giving our schools the tools to take meaningful action.”
Thompson emphasized that the legislation, which received bipartisan support, is a direct response to increasing concerns from Jewish students, faculty, and families in Oklahoma.
SB 991, which passed by a 27-15 vote, formally adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism into state law. This measure builds on a January 2022 executive order by Governor Kevin Stitt endorsing the definition, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
The IHRA working definition offers a comprehensive description of antisemitism in its various forms, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial and, sometimes controversially, the way antisemitism relates to the ways criticism of Israel is expressed.
More than half the states in the US have adopted or endorsed the IHRA definition, as has the District of Columbia, either as legislation or as an educational standard.
The IHRA definition of antisemitism has also been adopted by a host of countries, including Albania, Australia, Canada, Germany, Britain, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Cyprus and Argentina.
The second bill approved in Oklahoma, SB 942, encourages schools and universities in Oklahoma to apply the IHRA definition when evaluating antisemitic discrimination under Title VI. It also requires the State Regents for Higher Education to “develop and enforce policies that prevent antisemitic discrimination at public colleges and universities.”
Both bills will now move to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for further deliberation.
