2026 House Resolution 361

Whereas, Antisemitism is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of hatred in human history, manifesting in conspiracy theories, dehumanization, discrimination, harassment, vandalism, violence, terrorism, the singular denial of Jewish self-determination, and distortion of Jewish history and the Holocaust; and

Whereas, Jewish Michiganders are an integral part of the social, cultural, civic, economic, religious, and political fabric of this state, and Jewish communities have contributed immeasurably to the growth and prosperity of Michigan; and

Whereas, Michiganders have a moral obligation to ensure that Jews can worship, learn, work, raise a family, and participate in public life without fear of being targeted because of their Jewish identity; and

Whereas, Antisemitism is not merely a Jewish problem, but a threat to the fundamental principles of pluralism, democracy, religious freedom, equality, and human dignity upon which Michigan and the United States were founded; and

Whereas, On October 7, 2023, in the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, Hamas terrorists invaded peaceful Israeli communities situated alongside the border of the Gaza Strip, massacring over 1,200 innocent Israeli citizens, brutally, horrifically, raping women, slaughtering babies and children and the elderly with indiscriminate terror, and taking hostage hundreds more, simply because they were citizens of the Jewish State; and

Whereas, October 27, 2026, marks 8 years since the horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that tragically took the life of eleven worshipers and injured seven more in the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history; and

Whereas, Every October, we commemorate the Yom Kippur War, fought from October 6-25, 1973, which began with a surprise attack on the State of Israel by Egyptian and Syrian forces on Yom Kippur, the holiest and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar, while Israelis were in their houses of prayer; and

Whereas, The Anti-Defamation League recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2025, making 2025 the third-highest year for antisemitic incidents since the organization began tracking such incidents in 1979 and representing approximately five times the number recorded a decade earlier; and

Whereas, The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 1,938 single-bias anti-Jewish hate crime incidents in 2024, an increase of 5.8 percent over 2023 and the highest number ever recorded by the FBI, with anti-Jewish hate crimes accounting for approximately 16 percent of all reported hate crimes and nearly 70 percent of all reported religion-based hate crimes; and

Whereas, Antisemitism remains a significant problem in Michigan, with the Anti-Defamation League recording 156 antisemitic incidents in Michigan in 2025, including incidents occurring on college campuses and at Jewish institutions; and

Whereas, Antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracies have created a hostile environment in which Jews are increasingly viewed as legitimate targets of violence, making it essential for elected officials, community leaders, educators, religious institutions, law enforcement agencies, and members of the public to confront antisemitism before hateful rhetoric becomes discrimination or violence; and

Whereas, The rise of social media and artificial intelligence has created new pathways for online radicalization by enabling domestic conspiracy theories, antisemitic disinformation, and foreign propaganda to be rapidly amplified and personalized, creating echo chambers that normalize hatred of Jews and Israelis, and increase society’s vulnerability to antisemitism and violent extremism; and

Whereas, On May 21, 2025, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two Israeli Embassy staff members, were murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. by a man shouting “Free Palestine!” after attending an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, in an attack that federal prosecutors subsequently charged as a hate crime; and

Whereas, On June 1, 2025, attendees at a weekly gathering on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, organized to call for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, were attacked with a homemade firebomb, injuring numerous individuals and ultimately killing 82-year-old Karen Diamond; and

Whereas, On March 12, 2026, Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was targeted in an antisemitic terrorist attack in which an assailant rammed a vehicle into the synagogue while more than 100 children and more than 30 teachers and staff were inside its Early Childhood Center and subsequently opened fire, injuring Temple Israel Director of Security Danny Phillips and creating the potential for a catastrophic loss of life; and

Whereas, These attacks demonstrate that antisemitism is not merely an abstract social problem but a real and immediate public safety threat capable of producing deadly violence against Jews, Jewish institutions, and those who support the Jewish community or the State of Israel; and

Whereas, Combating antisemitism requires confronting both explicit hatred and the conspiracy theories, stereotypes, coded language, misinformation, and dehumanization that normalize hostility toward Jews; and

Whereas, Antisemitism must be confronted wherever it appears, in political movements, on college campuses, in schools, on social media, in workplaces, in houses of worship, in popular culture; and

Whereas, Jewish Michiganders have the same fundamental right as every other Michigan resident to live openly as Jews, attend synagogue, send their children to Jewish schools and preschools, wear Jewish religious and cultural symbols, support the State of Israel, and participate fully in civic life without fear of harassment, discrimination, or violence; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare October 2026 as Combating Antisemitism Month in the state of Michigan.