Urge Massachusetts Leaders to Take Action on Antisemitism

As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to take action to address the urgent issue of rising antisemitism across Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism (SCCA) has developed a groundbreaking, practical roadmap to guide political, educational, and civic leaders in a statewide effort to address antisemitism in K-12 schools, universities, workplaces, and other venues. Now, the Jewish community is counting on our leaders to ensure this plan is translated into concrete actions.

As the report documents, antisemitic hate crimes in Massachusetts rose by over 20% in 2024. Of the religious-based hate crimes in Massachusetts, 84.4% were directed against Jews. Nationally, according to the 2024 FBI Hate Crime Report, 69% of all religiously based hate crimes were directed against Jews, who constitute only 2.4% of our nation’s population. The Commission found that though school-based incidents persist, educators commonly lack an understanding of antisemitism, 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.  

To address these and numerous other troubling findings detailed in the report, the Commission—informed by the 16 hearings it held, testimony from more than 100 witnesses, and the thousands of letters sent in by interested Massachusetts citizens—developed a series of critical, necessary, and actionable recommendations that include:

• Instituting mandatory anti-bias education for K-12 educators that includes antisemitism
• Teaching about antisemitic tropes and myths, which are prevalent online, when instructing on digital literacy
• Creating a statewide bias reporting program that includes antisemitism

These and other key recommendations, if put into action, will help ensure that Massachusetts remains safe and inclusive for all of its citizens, including its Jewish communities.

Please know that I and the overwhelming majority of my community support the findings and recommendations of the SCCA. Please join with us to ensure that the Commission’s plan becomes a reality.