On Tuesday, July 26th the Montgomery County Council postponed a resolution to adopt what is known as the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which wrongfully and harmfully conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The resolution likely will come up again as early as September 13th. Click on the red box to the right that says "Start Writing" to send an email to the current and incoming Council!

Originally, the resolution was on the consent agenda, had the entire Council as a sponsor, and with a press conference planned for the following day. Right now, the resolution and press conference are postponed until September, but it is unclear which Councilmembers will remain cosponsors and whether there will be opportunity for public testimony.

We are calling on County Executive Elrich and Councilmembers who support free speech to remove all mention of the IHRA definition from the resolution, and delay any adoption of the resolution until the Council hears input from all stakeholders, particularly constituents who have been targeted by the IHRA re-definition.

This resolution threatens free speech and civil liberties by wrongfully conflating criticism of Israel with the very real and rising threat of antisemitism. Just in the past few months, we have seen a growing number of anti-semitic and fascist incidents in our local community, and it is imperative that our legislators lead with the intentionality, diligence and care this moment demands. This resolution undermines true safety and security, and will stifle free speech. We reject the false choice between standing up against anti-Palestinian racism and antisemitism. To create such a false choice threatens our collective struggles for liberation.

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