The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today joined calls by members of the Jewish and Muslim community in North Carolina calling for the veto of a bill that would harm the constitutional right to free speech in that state.
Jewish and Muslim activists protested yesterday against a bill that would codify the controversial and widely-disputed International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which conflates criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism, into state law.
SEE: Jewish and Muslim demonstrators call for veto of bill defining antisemitism
The North Carolina Senate approved the bill yesterday by a vote of 47-2.
Earlier this year, CAIR called on Indiana lawmakers to uphold the principle of free speech by rejecting the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
BACKGROUNDER:
The original drafter of the IHRA definition called it a “working definition” and testified to Congress that if government bodies “enshrine this definition into law, outside groups will try and suppress – rather than answer – political speech they don’t like. The academy, Jewish students, and faculty teaching about Jewish issues, will all suffer.”
CAIR chapters in a number of other states, including Kansas, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, and Georgia, have challenged similar anti-free speech legislation.
SEE: International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance muzzles critics of Israel
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said:
“We reject all forms of bigotry, including antisemitism. At the same time, false allegations of antisemitism should not be used to block criticism of the far-right Israeli government, which is currently engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing, forced starvation and genocide targeting the Palestinian people. It is not antisemitic to express support for Palestinian human rights.
“State legislatures should protect free speech, not seek to limit legitimate criticism of a foreign nation’s human rights abuses. The governor should veto this bill.”
He said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
SEE: CAIR Condemns Neo-Nazi Vandalism Near Jewish Homes in Baltimore
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com