Antisemitic incidents have grown more frequent and more extreme in Texas, according to the first study on antisemitism in the state published this month.
The Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission submitted its first Study on Antisemitism in Texas to the Legislature on Dec. 13, which included eight recommendations “to raise awareness and fight hatred against Jews throughout Texas.”
The state Legislature formed the commission with House Bill 3257 in 2021 to “help identify and root out antisemitism and ensure that all Texans are able to exercise their religious freedom without fear.” The legislation directed the commission to submit a study on antisemitism every two years before each legislative session, starting with the session beginning in 2023.
According to statistics from the Secure Community Network, incidents against the Jewish community in Texas more than doubled from 14 in 2020 to 33 in the following year. In 2022, 60 incidents were reported through Sept. 13, reflecting a trend across the nation of rising antisemitic incidents, the study said.
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The commission’s study cited several antisemitic incidents in Central Texas, including two that happened in October 2021: Anderson High School in West Austin was vandalized with multiple swastikas, and a person setting fire to a Jewish synagogue in Central Austin.
It also highlighted the unsuccessful efforts by pro-Palestinan students at the University of Texas to ask the school’s legislative student organizations to approve a resolution rejecting the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. UT did not allow student leaders to pass the resolution since it was about a non-university related issue.
Education-related recommendations
To address antisemitism, several of the study’s recommendations focus on taking action at public K-12 schools and universities. And depending on the recommendations, either the commission or state lawmakers could implement the proposals.
The recommendations include guiding school districts to ensure books about the Holocaust, genocide and antisemitism are available to families and students, and strengthening the promotion of Holocaust Remembrance Week so it’s more integrated into the public school curriculum.
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“As part of this effort, (the commission) would be available to advise the State Board of Education (SBOE) and school districts in developing curricula, selecting textbooks, identifying speakers, and ensuring Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) align with the state’s commitment to Holocaust, genocide, and antisemitism education,” the study said.
It also recommended advising administrators at Texas’ public universities about antisemitism, including the “antisemitic roots of many anti-Israel and (Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions) efforts on campus.” It notes that college students have been targeted and harassed for their support of Israel, occasionally by backers of the BDS movement.
The commission also proposes advising public universities, counties and other governments about incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism into training and other educational materials to provide clarity about what constitutes as antisemitism.
The study also suggests lawmakers should consider passing legislation to ban public colleges and universities — or its academic or administrative units — from participating in the BDS movement or any other academic boycotts against Israel.
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“On the far left, critics of Israel hold the Jewish state to a different standard than all other nations in the world — and hold all Jewish people accountable for what they see as Israel’s flaws,” commission chair Kenneth E. Goldberg and executive director Joy Nathan wrote in a letter in the study.
“On college campuses, in particular, these critics have nurtured an expectation that supporters of any progressive cause adopt an anti-Israel ideology that is rooted in antisemitism,” Goldberg and Nathan added. “They have made opposition to Israel and Jews a litmus test for activism.”
Under House Bill 793, passed in 2019, government agencies in Texas cannot enter into a contract worth more than $10,000 with any company with more than 10 employees unless the company states that it will not boycott Israel during the terms of the contract.
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 35 states, including Texas, have adopted laws, executive orders or resolutions designed to discourage boycotts against Israel.
Some of the study’s other recommendations include scheduling “listening tours” between lawmakers and the commission, local educators and museum officials, and advising police departments on the importance of reporting hate crime statistics to the FBI.
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