Anti-Semitism education legislation approved on June 29 by the Arizona state Senate requires schools to teach that claiming Israel does not have a right to exist is anti-Semitic, reported KAWC News.
Resolution HB 2282 passed 16-14 with every Democratic senator objecting to the bill on the grounds that it would limit discussion of Israel’s dealings with the Palestinian Arabs.
However, Senator Paul Boyer (R-Glendale), who put forward the motion, told KAWC the legislation is focused on teaching about anti-Semitism and does not hinder criticism of Israeli government policies but is aimed at combating “blood libels.”
"If you've spent any time in Israel, you know that criticizing the state of Israel and the government is really an Israeli pastime,” he said, pointing to the fact that his legislation speaks to the issue of people questioning Israel’s right to exist, not simply criticizing acts of the government.
"To say that Israel is an apartheid state is ridiculous,'' Boyer said, citing an example.
He noted that the bill does not "diminish or infringe on any right that is protected under the Constitution of Arizona or the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
State Senate Democrats are reportedly alarmed that the measure, which aims to teach students about Jew hatred, uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.
Boyer pointed out that the IHRA definition has been adopted by many American governments at all levels, including the Biden administration. It has also been adopted internationally by many countries.
Senator Martin Quezada (D-Glendale) was one of the Democrats who questioned making the IHRA definition part of Arizona law.
“There is a strong and a well-funded lobbying effort that's underway right now to take advantage of this crisis to redefine 'anti-Semitism' to include any criticism of the nation-state of Israel," he said in an interview with the Arizona Capital Times.
He added, "Given the absolute horrors that are continuously happening literally right now in the Palestinian occupied territories in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Sheikh Jarrah, this purely political effort should be looked at with a more critical eye right now more than ever because of all that's happening."
Boyer said that the point of his bill is to tackle attacks on Israel that go beyond legitimate criticism.
“To say that the Jews' right to re-found their state that they've lived in for the last 3,000 years is a racist endeavor? Yeah, that does go beyond legitimate criticism,” he said.