(July 11, 2023, New York, NY) — StandWithUs thanks Governor Kathy Hochul for signing the "Hate Crime Reporting on College Campus Act" (S02060-A/A03694A) into law on July 11. StandWithUs Northeast Executive Director Avi Posnick attended the event, held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan.
The legislation mandates colleges in New York State to implement a plan to effectively investigate hate crimes, including antisemitic hate crimes, on campus and requires colleges to inform incoming students about hate crime prevention measures. At a time when antisemitism is rising at colleges and Jewish students are facing growing hostility, this legislation will help ensure that hate crimes are better reported and addressed on college campuses statewide.
Avi Posnick also expressed gratitude to the bill sponsors, Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal and Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. "I was proud to be part of the press conference that announced this bill last year. Assemblyman Rosenthal and Senator Stavisky, as well as Gov. Hochul, are to be commended for taking this critical step toward addressing the issue of hate crimes on college campuses. In order for colleges to be equipped to identify, report, investigate and confront antisemitism, we hope that the authorities who will oversee the implementation of this hate crime legislation will avail themselves of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which incorporates both classic and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism. At StandWithUs, we will continue to work with our partners in government, the community and campus to fight antisemitism, and we are thankful for this legislation which will hopefully make all of our jobs easier."
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, nonprofit, and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films, and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters and programs throughout the U.S., Israel, the UK, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, and the Netherlands.
For the last eleven years, StandWithUs has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator and GuideStar, two charity watchdog groups that assess hundreds of thousands of charities in the United States.
