What is the Commission?

The Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism (“the Commission”) in the Commonwealth was authorized into state law through a budget amendment in August 2024. The 19-member Commission is tasked with making recommendations on how to prevent and respond to antisemitism.

It is vitally important to address antisemitism within an antiracist, solidarity framework and ensure that the Commission does not conflate legally protected free speech criticizing Israel or advocating for or teaching about Palestinian experience with antisemitism.

In our current national context, where fights against antisemitism have been used as a pretext for dismantling civil liberties, it is crucial that Massachusetts takes a different path. 

The Commission is made up of 19 members of various affiliations, mostly government and Jewish organizations, and co-chaired by Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield) and Rep. Simon Cataldo (D-Concord).

The law requires the commission to submit a report by November 30, 2025 to:

• Report on trends and data related to incidents of antisemitism in the commonwealth; 
• Make recommendations for the implementation of the United States national strategy to counter antisemitism; 
• Identify and evaluate existing efforts to combat antisemitism in the commonwealth;
• Identify best practices from efforts to combat antisemitism in other states and jurisdictions; 
• Evaluate the commonwealth’s hate crime statutes and whether any amendments would better protect residents from antisemitism and other similar forms of hatred;
• Recommend strategies, programs and legislation to combat antisemitism in the commonwealth. 

In the meantime, the Commission is soliciting testimony from Massachusetts communities during a series of hearings. 

The Commission Co-Chairs, Sen. John Velis and Rep. Simon Cataldo, have identified the following themes that the Commission will explore in meetings:

• K-12 public and private schools 
• Post-secondary education 
• Workplace issues
• Municipal government
• Law enforcement 
• The definition of antisemitism
• Experiences of Orthodox Jews, Israeli Jews, and “those who have different views on what counts as antisemitism”
• Other topics may be added

The Commission’s policy recommendations will presumably focus on these areas, which impact almost every aspect of Bay Staters’ lives. Representatives of Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts provided testimony to the Commission in February 2025, highlighting the need for a response to antisemitism that reflects the diversity of all Jewish people in the Commonwealth and within a framework that embraces equity and inclusion for all.

Our Concerns:

• The representatives from Jewish organizations appointed to the Commission represent a narrow sample of the Massachusetts Jewish community—not the diversity of Jewish experience or opinion throughout the state. Members of the Commission have expressed hostility towards members of anti- or non-Zionist Jewish organizations that have testified before the Commission.
• The Commission does not include experts on Israel/Palestine, despite their consistent focus on a perceived relationship between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. They also do not have any representatives from anti- or non-Zionist Jewish communities, or from Palestinian or Muslim communities that may be impacted by their eventual policy proposals.
• The Commission is relying heavily on data collected by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)—an organization that has a history and ongoing pattern of surveilling and targeting progressive movements led by communities of color, repressing students’ political activities, and aligning itself with police, right-wing leaders, and perpetrators of state violence. Data collected by the ADL has long been criticized as skewed and unsupported. For instance, the ADL often counts any speech or activism in defense of Palestinian rights as antisemitism, a dangerous conflation that undermines genuine efforts to understand and combat antisemitism while silencing legitimate criticism of the state of Israel and advancng a false narrative that Jewish people are a monolith who all share the same views. Find more details on the ADL’s harmful practices here. 

In short: We are insisting that the Commission engage with its mandate thoughtfully, transparently, and inclusively. In our current national context, where fights against antisemitism are often used as a pretext for dismantling civil liberties, it is crucial that Massachusetts takes a different path. We can and must combat antisemitism—through a solidarity framework that recognizes the commonality between Jewish, Palestinian, Arab, Black, Brown and other targeted communities—not through policies which may threaten our civil liberties, put our communities at risk, and further marginalize and isolate Palestinians and Jews. Antisemitism is a serious problem that must be addressed, and we must ensure that we fight antisemitism within a framework of safety and freedom for everyone.