Overview:
A 69-page report by the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism has been approved unanimously, recommending mandatory anti-bias education, a statewide bias reporting program, and better reporting mechanisms for the state's Jewish community. The report also addresses academic boycotts and supports the handling of an incident at the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst.
NORTHAMPTON — A series of recommendations for K-12 and higher education, public safety and law enforcement and workplaces that aim to confront antisemitism are included in a 69-page report approved unanimously by the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism this week.
Co-chaired by Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, and Rep. Simon Cataldo, the commission, which held its final meeting Thursday, voted in support of the report’s findings and the ways to address anti-Jewish behavior, with a hope to increase tolerance, improve education and build better reporting mechanisms for the state’s Jewish community.
The report is the outcome of a 13-month study that included 16 public hearings.
Specifically, the recommendations are to institute mandatory anti-bias education, including on antisemitism, for K-12 educators; teaching about antisemitic tropes and myths, which are prevalent online, when educating about digital literacy; and creating a statewide bias reporting program that includes antisemitism.
The report also addresses the use of academic boycotts, referencing an incident at the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst in which an event had been planned to exclude anyone associated with “Israeli institutions.” The report supports how this was handled, with UMass leaders reaffirming a “commitment to nondiscrimination and the protection of academic freedom and requiring organizers to abandon their planned boycott
conditions.”
UMass is also called a strong example, alongside Tufts University and Wheaton College, for implementing bias reporting protocols, which establish “clear, accessible and user-friendly mechanisms for reporting bias-related or hate-based incidents.”
The end product is receiving both support and concern from those who have been involved and observing.
American Jewish Committee New England Director Rob Leikind, who served on the commission, praised the final report, suggesting it is time to translate the plan into action.
“The commission has created a clear, practical roadmap to guide political, educational and civic leaders in a statewide effort to help people better understand and address antisemitism and its impact on Jewish people,” Leikind said.
“The overwhelming majority of Massachusetts residents share our commitment to confront the surge of antisemitic activity that is having a deep and painful impact on Jews across the commonwealth and the country,” Leikind added.
Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff, though, wrote a letter in advance of the commission’s last session that it was failing to deliver “a thoughtful, collaborative and inclusive approach to antisemitism.”
In that correspondence, that organization wrote that “the totality of the report — understood in the context of the commission leadership’s behavior — mainstreams the same narratives and endorses the same policies that the Trump administration and rightwing allies such as the ADL wield to spread hate, to silence dissent, and to erode the democratic norms that keep all of us safe.”
Ben Allen at Emmanuel College was among those who criticized the work.
“The commission did a good job representing legacy Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Community Relations Council, and American Jewish Committee,” Allen said. “But it has not been representative or responsive to the community it purports to protect. We are Jewish organizations too: Boston Workers Circle, Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff, IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Massachusetts Synagogue Network on Israel-Palestine, Rabbis for Ceasefire and many more.”
Specifically, some of the objections included a continued reliance on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism; prohibition of academic boycotts, like the one attempted at UMass; restrictions on student protests; and designation of the term “Zionist” as an antisemitic slur.
At the last hearing, State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who was the first Jewish woman to win statewide office in Massachusetts, thanked the commission for making the state a more welcoming and inclusive place to live, and praising Velis and Cataldo for their leadership.
“Your efforts have led to meaningful conversations and substantive recommendations, even amidst a volatile political environment,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg said that antisemitism is a form of hatred, marginalization and bias that goes beyond religion.
“This report works toward the inclusion of Jewish people in the same way we have always fought for inclusion and equity for all groups,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg cited several aspects of the report she appreciates, such as the statewide bias reporting program for K-12 to address undereporting of hate bias and discrimination; strengthening the connection between law enforcement and organizations; and urging state agencies and private employers to incorporate antisemetic education into broader anti discrimination programs.
The implementation phase of the report can now proceed, she said.
“Pray that we can create a better world for everyone, everyone, I am underlining everyone, and face down hate,” Goldberg said.
The commission also received a letter signed by 1,200 residents critical of its work. Among those who signed was Jill Charney, a Newton resident, who worries that the commission’s work is paving the way for the draconian measures of the Trump administration to take root in Massachusetts.
“We don’t want the state to be in the business of policing academic freedom, enforcing viewpoint discrimination, cracking down on student protests and demonizing teachers unions,” Charney said. “That doesn’t protect Jews or anyone else. We need our legislators to stand up against the weaponization of antisemitism rather than enable it.”
The commission was the first in the United States to undertake a statewide assessment of how antisemitism affected residents and develop recommendations for how to better understand and address it.
Among its findings were that school-based incidents persist, many educators still lack an understanding of antisemitism, school-sponsored anti-bias programs often neglect teaching about antisemitism, and Jewish and Israeli students face mental health challenges arising from the failure to adequately address antisemitism.
The report states that antisemitic hate crimes in Massachusetts rose by more than 20% in 2024 and, of the religion-based hate crimes in Massachusetts, 84.4% were directed against Jews.
With the commission’s work complete, the report went to the clerks in the House and Senate on Nov. 30 and then to the committees on Ways and Means in both chambers.