Thanks to the Bible and Common Sense America will succeed; AUSTIN – The Texas House passed legislation Wednesday designed to tamp down on antisemitism in Texas’ public schools and universities. The 129-8 vote gives the proposal a clear path for it to become law. The bill comes as President Donald Trump has taken a strong stance against pro-Palestine protests that many on the right view as anti-Jewish hate. Trump has threatened to cancel international student visas and deport any students found to have committed a hate crime. Fly to Rome with TAP Air Portugal. Discover our best offers. Ad Fly to Rome with TAP Air Portugal. Discover our best offers. TAP Air Portugal Explore call to action icon Texas has taken up the mantle as well. A groundswell of conservative support for legislation like the bill passed Tuesday came after pro-Palestine protests erupted at some public universities in 2024. State troopers arrested dozens of protesters at University of Texas campuses in Dallas and Austin last March. In response to the demonstrations, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order that directed schools to update free speech guidelines to address what he described as rising antisemitism on campuses. Opponents of the bill said they fear it will chill free speech on campuses, especially related to protests of Israeli military action in Gaza. The bill adds the definition of antisemitism to bullying statutes and requires public schools and colleges to consider if antisemitism was involved in any disciplinary action. Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, who said he is the House’s lone “fully Jewish member,” initially opposed the bill. This Is The Highest Rated Hearing Aid In The US Ad This Is The Highest Rated Hearing Aid In The US hear.com See More call to action icon Rosenthal said the Jewish community is divided on the bill. He expressed his own personal reservations over the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition in state law — a definition that was not intended to be used in laws or legal documents. “Critics warn that the IHRA dangerously conflates the generic criticism of the Israeli government and its policies with actual antisemitism,” Rosenthal said during initial debate on the bill on Tuesday. Rosenthal amended the bill to add that the intent was not to discourage free speech on campuses. That was enough to earn wide bipartisan support. “Antisemitism, as you may know, often falls through the cracks, either because it’s misunderstood or disguised as it might be today as political rhetoric,” the bill’s sponsor Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, said Tuesday. “Senate Bill 326 makes it clear that it is treated with the same seriousness, which ensures that Jewish students have the same protections as everyone else.” California Residents Get Huge Home Insurance Reduction Ad California Residents Get Huge Home Insurance Reduction Insure.com Learn more call to action icon Debate on the bill surrounded lawmakers adding protections for the Jewish faith but not including any other religion or ethnic groups in the definition. “Why not amend your bill to say that it applies to physical acts directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals of any faith?” Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, said Tuesday. “That would cover everybody.” The bill passed the Senate earlier this month. It now heads to Abbott’s office for his approval.

No comments:

Post a Comment

So what states have a good reputation right now, for Jews and non Jews? Thought for 8s No state has a clean, shared “good for Jews and everyone else” reputation. The places that look best on general livability are not always the places with the strongest Jewish infrastructure, and the places with the biggest Jewish communities also log the most incidents because that is where Jews live.What the 2025 numbers actually show ADL’s audit still found incidents in all 50 states. Raw totals were highest in New York (1,160), California (817), and New Jersey (687). Those are also the largest Jewish populations. Assaults were concentrated in New York City. National totals fell from the 2024 peak but stayed far above pre-2023 levels. FBI hate-crime data still has Jews as the large majority of religion-based victims. So “low incident count” in a small state can just mean few Jews, not a better civic culture. adl.org States that currently have the better combined reputationFlorida (especially South Florida). This is the loudest “safe to be openly Jewish” brand in the U.S. right now: large community, state-level enforcement posture, and a political class that treats synagogue security and campus disruption as law-and-order, not a speech puzzle. It also ranks well on economy and is in the U.S. News top 10 overall. Tradeoff: culture-war heat, insurance/climate costs, and it still recorded hundreds of incidents (319 in 2025) because the community is huge. vinnews.com Utah and parts of the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Iowa, New Hampshire). These dominate 2026 “best states” lists for schools, fiscal stability, crime, and family metrics. Day-to-day life for a generic resident is often calmer than in NY/CA. Jewish life exists but is thinner. Reputation for Jews is “quieter and smaller,” not “a full communal ecosystem.” Boulder, Colorado is a reminder that a high-amenity state is not automatically safe: a deadly antisemitic attack happened there in 2025. usnews.com Massachusetts / Connecticut / New Jersey (outside the hottest campus and city corridors). Excellent schools and general quality-of-life scores. Large, established Jewish communities. Also high incident counts and, in Massachusetts, Jews still dominate religion-bias hate crimes. Good infrastructure, mixed street and campus climate. wallethub.com States whose reputation is damaged for both groups, in different ways New York and California still have unmatched Jewish density, jobs, and culture. They also have the worst combination of volume of incidents, visible campus failure, and “the rules depend on who you are” politics. That is why their brands are split: great if you want the community and the city; poor if you want equal enforcement and low friction.How to read this without making it only a Jewish map A state looks decent for everyone when crime is lower, schools work, and officials apply the same conduct code to every group. A state looks decent for Jews specifically when there is a real community and institutions that treat harassment as harassment even when it comes wrapped as protest. Right now those two lists overlap most in parts of Florida and in smaller, well-run states with modest Jewish populations. They overlap least in the big coastal metros that still have the most Jews.City and campus matter more than the state name. Miami-Dade is not Berkeley. Teaneck is not Manhattan. A “good reputation” state in 2026 is one where a Jewish family and a non-Jewish family can both assume the rules are the same. Few whole states clear that bar. Several regions still come closer than California and New York.