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CAIR-Chicago, Partners Oppose Proposed IL Bill Outlawing Criticism of Foreign Government

(CHICAGO, IL, 3/19/21) - CAIR-Chicago, the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, joins the plethora of community groups calling on the Illinois House to defeat a bill that would undermine freedom of conscience and speech by criminalizing criticism of foreign governments. The bill adopts the working definition of antisemitism put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and adopted by Former President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

Bill sponsors claim that they are pursuing this law as a way to fight antisemitism. But numerous Jewish groups disagree. The bill is a blatant attempt to politicize antisemitism and to silence legitimate criticisms of Israel. In fact, of the six examples of antisemitism identified in the law, four mention Israel specifically.

See: Jewish Voice for Peace Statement

See: Jewish Council on Urban Affairs Statement

“Smears of antisemitism are often leveled at people for their legitimate criticisms of Israel, and now the Illinois General Assembly wants to codify these prohibitions to allow Israel’s actions to go unscrutinized publicly and politically,” said Tamer Y. Abouzeid, Staff Attorney at CAIR-Chicago. “We agree with our Jewish friends when they say that to truly fight antisemitism, we must focus on hate, rather than legitimate political criticism, the biggest culprit being white supremacy.”

This definition has already been used to silence people, from Jewish students organizing a vigil at UC Berkeley to a National Students for Justice in Palestine Conference calling for equality for Palestinians. Kenneth Stern, who authored the definition, has himself rejected its use in policy.

See: “I drafted the definition of antisemitism. Right wing Jews are weaponizing it.”- Kenneth Stern, author of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.

“It is ironic that these politicians claim they are fighting against antisemitism when they are engaging in a classic form of antisemitism themselves: conflating Judaism with Israel, its secular government and its choice policies some of which harm the civil and human rights of others; blatantly put, this bill smacks of peddling dominionism into law rather than combating bigotry, the latter of which we are wholly committed to as per our very mission statement,” said Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director. “We must repel these attacks on the rights of Illinoisans guaranteed to them by the federal and state constitutions. In the coming weeks, we will make sure that Illinois lawmakers have heard us loud and clear.”

The next hearing in Committee will be on March 24, 2021 at 2 pm. We encourage you to submit a witness slip and tell the General Assembly that you OPPOSE this bill.

Take Action: Submit a Witness Slip Here. Say you OPPOSE the Bill

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CAIR-Chicago is the Chicago Chapter of America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Our mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance.

CONTACT: CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab, 202-870 0166, arehab@cair.com; CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Saadia Pervaiz, 312-212-1520, spervaiz@cair.com; CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Hannah Faris, 312-212-1520, hfaris@cair.com