It looks rather biblical: Scott, Rosen reintroduce Antisemitism Awareness Act in Senate “It’s critical the Department of Education has the tools and resources it needs to investigate antisemitism,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Credit: Maxim Kapytka/Pexels.U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Credit: Maxim Kapytka/Pexels. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Email Print (Feb. 12, 2025 / JNS) Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) reintroduced the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the Senate on Wednesday. The bipartisan bill directs the U.S. Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when investigating acts of Jew-hatred on campus. “In the continued aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and Iran, we have seen college campuses across our nation become hotbeds of antisemitism where Jewish students’ rights are being threatened,” Scott said. “It’s critical the Department of Education has the tools and resources it needs to investigate antisemitism and root out this vile hatred wherever it rears its ugly head.” Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate and never miss our top stories and analyses Email By signing up, you agree to receive emails from JNS. The legislation would enshrine in law U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2019 executive order instructing federal agencies to consider the IHRA definition of antisemitism in enforcing Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits any recipient of federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. Title VI notably applies to virtually every university in the country. The IHRA definition includes both a “non-legally binding working definition” of antisemitism as well as 11 “contemporary examples” of antisemitism, including “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel,” and “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.” Related Articles Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya on Nov. 23, 2021. Credit: Eskinder Debebe/U.N. Photo. White House officially sanctions ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan Feb. 13, 2025 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025. Photo by Liri Agami/Flash90. Nobel laureates make bold peace prize offer to Trump in bid to save hostages from Hamas Feb. 13, 2025 The Iron Dome aerial-defense system fires interceptor missiles at enemy rockets fired from Lebanon, April 12, 2024. Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90. Iron Dome developer elected to National Academy of Engineering Feb. 13, 2025 A previous iteration the bill passed the House by a wide margin in 2024, but the previous Senate majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), did not bring it to a vote in the upper chamber before the end of the 118th Congress. Critics of the legislation argue that the IHRA definition is too restrictive, with some on the left, like Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), saying that it precludes legitimate criticism of Israel. From the right, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) argued during the 2024 House vote Christians could be accused of antisemitism “for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.” The Senate version of the act has 32 co-sponsors, including Schumer, who was not a co-sponsor of the previous Senate version. Jewish groups such as the the Anti-Defamation League, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federations of North America have also endorsed the legislation. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) reintroduced the House version of the bill in the lower chamber earlier in February.
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AntisemitismCanada In 2026, Tulsa And Panama Are Courting Canadian Jews As Antisemitism Redefines The Cost Of Staying As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels across Canada, Jewish families and professionals are quietly reassessing their futures, and some are being actively courted elsewhere. Ron East By: Ron East December 31, 2025 SHARE A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options as antisemitism intensifies and confidence in public protection erodes. (Image: Illustration.) TORONTO — For generations, Canada sold itself as a country where Jews could thrive without constantly looking over their shoulders. That assumption no longer holds for a growing number of Canadian Jews, particularly in the aftermath of October 7 and the months that followed. What has changed is not only the number of antisemitic incidents. It is the atmosphere. Public hostility has been normalized. Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centres operate under permanent security protocols. Anti-Jewish intimidation is increasingly framed as political expression. Enforcement is inconsistent. Accountability is rare. When Jewish life requires constant risk assessment, mobility stops being a luxury. It becomes a rational act of self-preservation. That reality helps explain why, in 2026, two very different destinations, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Panama, are appearing with growing frequency in serious conversations among Canadian Jews who have the means and flexibility to move. This is not a panic migration. It is a strategic recalculation. Canada’s new warning lights Jewish Canadians represent a small fraction of the population, yet account for a vastly disproportionate share of reported hate crimes. This is not a perception problem. It is a documented pattern. More troubling than the statistics themselves is the message many Jews hear in response: concern, sympathy, and context, but little deterrence. Protests that spill into harassment are tolerated. Jewish institutions are targeted repeatedly. Antisemitism disguised as antizionism is parsed endlessly rather than confronted directly. The result is a slow erosion of confidence in the state’s willingness or ability to enforce equal protection. When a community moves from assuming it belongs to hoping nothing happens today, the social contract has already been fractured. It is within this context that Tulsa and Panama are not merely attracting attention but actively courting. Lech Le’Tulsa and intentional Jewish welcome Tulsa is not presenting itself as a refuge city. It is presenting itself as a place that wants Jewish life to grow. In 2026, that effort has taken concrete form through Lech Le’Tulsa, a Jewish-focused relocation initiative designed to attract Jewish families, professionals, and entrepreneurs to the Tulsa area. The program combines relocation assistance with intentional community building and access to Jewish infrastructure. The name is deliberate. Lech Lecha, the biblical call to go forth and build a future, is not branding by accident. It speaks directly to a Jewish historical instinct that understands movement not as retreat, but as agency. Lech Le’Tulsa offers what many Canadian Jews increasingly feel is missing at home: A clear signal that Jewish presence is welcomed, not merely accommodated Immediate access to synagogues, schools, and Jewish communal life A civic environment where Jewish identity is not treated as a liability The financial incentives matter, but the social architecture matters more. Tulsa is offering a landing ramp. It is saying, we are prepared for you to arrive. That clarity stands in stark contrast to the ambiguity Canadian Jews experience when their safety concerns are acknowledged but endlessly deferred. Panama and the appeal of optionality Panama represents a different but equally rational response to insecurity. For Canadian Jews with international mobility, Panama offers residency pathways tied to investment, business activity, or long-term economic contribution. It also offers something increasingly valuable: optionality. Panama has an established Jewish community, a comparatively lower cost of living, and an immigration framework that openly courts skilled and capital-carrying residents. For some, it is a permanent relocation. For others, it is a second base, a contingency plan, or a future passport pathway. What matters is not the destination itself, but the logic behind the choice. When Jews seek second options, they are not rejecting diaspora life. They are applying historical lessons. Jewish continuity has always depended on redundancy, resilience, and the ability to move before crisis becomes catastrophe. The Zionist lens Canadians prefer to ignore Zionism does not deny the legitimacy of diaspora life. It insists that Jews must never be dependent on the goodwill of others for safety or equality. That lesson was written in blood long before the modern State of Israel existed. Israel institutionalized it at a national level. Individual Jews apply it on a personal level. When Canadian Jews explore Tulsa or Panama, they are not abandoning Canada in anger. They are responding rationally to warning signs. They are building leverage. They are ensuring their children have options. This is what Zionist consciousness looks like outside Israel. It is quiet, pragmatic, and unsentimental. An indictment Canada should take seriously Tulsa and Panama are not superior societies. They are intentional ones. Tulsa is saying, we want contributors, and we are prepared to integrate them. Panama is saying, we want residents and investment, and we have clear legal pathways. Canada, too often, is saying something else entirely: we are sorry you feel unsafe, but the politics are complicated. A serious country does not treat antisemitism as a public relations challenge. It treats it as a threat to civic order. That requires enforcement, deterrence, and moral clarity, including the willingness to name antisemitism even when it hides behind fashionable political language. Until that happens, Canada should not be surprised when Jews quietly explore exit ramps. The bottom line In 2026, the fact that Tulsa and Panama can plausibly court Canadian Jews is not an oddity. It is a warning. When antisemitism reaches levels that fundamentally alter how Jews calculate their futures, movement becomes strategy. History teaches Jews to act before apologies arrive too late. Canada still has time to reverse this trajectory. But time matters. And Jews, having learned this lesson repeatedly, are no longer inclined to wait.
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