Against Massachusetts Bill H.1763, “An Act Relative to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of Antisemitism”
This letter was sent to the Massachusetts state legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary on July 15, 2025.
Dear Joint Committee on the Judiciary Chairs Edwards and Day:
We write to communicate our opposition to H.1763, “An Act Relative to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism.” Even if well-intended, codifying the IHRA working definition into Massachusetts antidiscrimination law will not help the Commonwealth combat antisemitism.
To the contrary, the IHRA definition has received widespread critique – including from one of its drafters, from human rights and other civil society groups, from Jewish Members of Congress, and from Jewish scholars of genocide and the Holocaust – because it conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism and has been routinely employed to silence legitimate criticism of Israel. Not only does this dynamic threaten academic freedom and critical inquiry on our campuses and communities, it also compromises our collective ability to prevent actual acts of antisemitism and to counter the dangerous ideologies on which they rest.
Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff–Boston Area is an organization of over 150 Jewish academics and staff members working at colleges and universities in the Boston area. Last year, we authored a letter urging the U.S. Senate not to pass the GOP-led Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA). Much like H.1763, the AAA would have codified the IHRA working definition of antisemitism into federal antidiscrimination law. Our letter was signed by over 1,300 Jewish professors and endorsed by several mainstream Jewish organizations including JStreet and Nexus. We have reproduced that letter, with a link to all signatories, for your reference. Like the AAA, H.1763 would undermine free speech and hinder the fight against antisemitism.
We urge you not to advance H.1763 and not to codify the IHRA definition into state law. We would be happy to discuss this matter further at your convenience.
With gratitude,
Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff – Boston Area