A bill that defines antisemitism.

Nevada State Senator James Ohrenschall sponsored Senate Bill 179 and worked with two local teenagers on it.

One of them, Ethan Cohen, recently joined us to explain how the state will now use that definition.

We appreciate you making the time.

I know you are busy, and I want to get to the definition that is used in this bill of antisemitism.

But before we do that, will you explain to our viewers why you thought this was needed, especially considering that the Nevada Equal Rights Commission already functions in order to protect Nevadans from discrimination based on religion, race, ancestry, and national origin.

Why was this still needed, in your opinion?

(Ethan Cohen) So for me, there were two main reasons why I pursued SB 179 and wanted to get this actually codified into law.

The first one was to increase the level of specificity that the Equal Rights Commission has whenever they approach investigating potential discrimination.

So whenever they're investigating an employment, housing, public accommodations, whatever it may be, and they lack a tool or resource, which is, in this case, is a definition of antisemitism, then whenever they are investigating, they're left not knowing how to classify what they just investigated and not being able to determine whether or not it is antisemitic or not.

So I think being able to provide this definition to them gives them a clear cut way to determine how to classify certain things they're investigating.

And the second reason was to provide a calculated response on the part of the state government.

You know, the past couple years, we've seen, you know, a 200 to 300% increase of antisemitism.

And I think, after the most recent reports, it's actually been a little higher.

And you know, being able to show that the state government has a response to antisemitism and is standing up for the Jewish community and Jewish Nevadans, that's really important, which is why I was super thankful to all of the legislators who voted in favor of the bill, to all the public officials who expressed support, and, of course, for Governor Lombardo for signing the bill.

-So it sends a strong message, but it also provides clarity to the Equal Rights Commission.

I imagine that you got a lot of good experience out of this experience.

You are also a Nevada Youth Legislator, in addition to being a junior at The Meadows School.

And I say some good experience because you actually faced some pushback for the original definition of antisemitism that was a part of this bill.

What ended up happening?

What was that backstory?

-Yeah.

So the main intent was always to use the specific definition of antisemitism, called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition.

And over the past 10 years or so, it's gained a lot of traction in the international community.

There have been many countries that have adopted it, many NGOs, faith groups, nonprofits, both Jewish and non Jewish, that have adopted this.

So it's become kind of the standard or the go-to.

-And the Nevada System of Higher Education, also.

-Last year they also adopted this.

-Yeah.

-The intent was always to use that definition, because both of, you know, the credibility it has, but also to keep it consistent with other states in the country that have begun codifying it into their own laws.

But the Legislative Council Bureau, they're the lawyers who write the language for the bill, they initially refused to put the IHRA definition into law, even though-- because they said that, you know, by reference, we can't, you know, insert any other organizations' or entities' definition into Nevada law.

But from what I was told, there have been certain codes and regulations that have been adopted from other organizations, and so I didn't see why this should be any different.

But eventually they were able to change it to actually inserting the definition, which was really a fortunate step and a good step in the right direction.

And that led to a lot of unity in terms of getting this bill across the finish line.

-You got a first-hand experience of some of the red tape that is involved.

-Yeah.

-So the definition that is in this bill that is now part of law in Nevada, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, is that "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.

Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."

I was a little bit thrown off by "non-Jewish individuals."

How does that apply to this situation?

-So what that is meant to say is that whenever someone is perceived to be Jewish and treated in a discriminatory way, even if they're not Jewish, that still is a form of antisemitism, since the behavior of the second individual in this scenario would have been based on the fact that they intend to use antisemitism against that individual, even if they weren't Jewish.

So if someone thinks someone's Jewish and treats them differently because of that, even if that person is not of the Jewish faith, that still is considered antisemitism, because the intent and the motivation was there.

-I did speak with Senator Ohrenschall on the phone about this legislation, and he gave me an example of that, saying he grew up with a friend whose last name was Gold, and he was not Jewish; but, because of his last name, was assumed to be Jewish and treated differently as a result.

I also talked to him about the criticism that exists of this specific definition.

And one-- And it includes some in the Jewish community say that it could threaten the ability of someone to speak freely against Israel, that it may silence that kind of speech.

How would you respond to that?

-So I think looking at the definition itself, it actually makes clear that criticism of Israel and, you know, being able to express someone's opinion about, you know, the policies of the government of Israel is totally allowed.

And I personally think that under the First Amendment, anyone should have the right to say anything that they want to.

I think that, you know, that's a right that needs to be protected, and, obviously, I'm not trying to infringe on that at all with this bill.

I think where this definition is useful is where it makes clear when criticism of Israel crosses over into antisemitism.

And for that, I'll talk about another one of the parts of this definition.

When you hold Israel to a double standard or single it out or expect of it more than you would of any other democratic nation on earth and the only distinction between Israel and all the other democratic nations is that it is the lone Jewish state, then those different perceptions you have of Israel can only be based on the fact that it is different based on faith and based on its Jewish identity as a state.

So I think that criticism of Israel should be allowed because Israel, like all countries, is imperfect, and only through criticism can something get better.

But I think, you know, criticism of Israel based on the fact of someone's antisemitic beliefs were using criticism of certain policies as a mask or shield for someone's, you know, own hateful rhetoric really, you know, doesn't contribute anything to the dialog.

And I think it just sets things back.

So I think that's why this definition is really useful for trying to really make specific when those types of things happen.

-And as it relates to the Equal Rights Commission, the senator said that this is about actions and not words; that you can feel however you want and say it, but if it keeps you from renting a house to someone because they are Jewish or hiring them because they are Jewish, that is when it is not okay.

We really appreciate your time.

I know you're busy, as I mentioned, and I'm looking at a book right now on the table.

Do you mind holding that up?

-Yes, absolutely.

-When did you write this?

-So over the summer, I published a children's book about youth empowerment.

And so far, it's been either read to or distributed to 3,000 kids across Nevada.

And the main goal of the book is to encourage kids to recognize their ability to accomplish whatever they seek to do; but not only to empower themselves, but also use that empowerment to make a difference in the community.

So that's one of the projects that I've been working on.

And another project somewhat relates to what we talked about earlier is my project called the National Holocaust Youth Council, which is the only for-youth-by-youth Holocaust organization.

And what I do is I create educational resources designed specifically for teens, but coming from another teen perspective.

So through curriculum, assemblies, and PSAs, I've reached about 10,000 students in Clark County, with hopefully more to come as well, because I do have a partnership with the Department of Education on that project, which is hopefully going to be released next year.

-Wow!

Ethan Cohen, you are impressive.

Thank you so much for joining Nevada Week.

-Thank you for having me.

I really appreciate it.