MADISON, Wis. (WRN) — A new, highly debated new state law codifies a definition of antisemitism in Wisconsin.
Governor Tony Evers signed the legislation last week.
“It’s a definition. This bill does not create a new crime. It doesn’t create a hate enhancer. It just defines what is and what is not anti-Semitism,” said the bill’s author, Republican Representative Ron Tusler, on the Assembly floor prior to passage in February.
Hannah Rosenthal, Immediate Past President and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, testified against the bill during an hours long public hearing last year.
“Not a single jurisdiction that has adopted the IRA definition has seen any decline in anti-Semitic incidences,” said Rosenthal.
Wisconsin will use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. Proponents say that provides clear guidance amid rising levels of antisemitism. Critics say it will suppress pro-Palestinian speech and will open the state to First Amendment lawsuits.