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Oklahoma Legislator Introduces Bill to Adopt IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

The Tulsa, Oklahoma skyline. Photo: Photomakers/Wikimedia.
Oklahoma State Rep. John Waldron, a Democrat elected in Tulsa, has introduced legislation that would use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to guide state employees in assessing bigotry against Jews.
Rising antisemitism on college campuses motivated Waldron to draft a bill to aid schools in identifying hate speech. He said he hoped to “give higher education tools for defining what political speech, and therefore protected under the First Amendment, and hate speech that tends toward violence, and should be dealt with according to administrative procedure is,” according to KTUL ABC 8 in Tulsa.
The legislation, House Bill 2243, was introduced last week and says that “state officials and institutions have a responsibility to protect citizens from acts of hate and bigotry motivated by discriminatory animus, including antisemitism, and must be given the tools to do so; valid monitoring, informed analysis and investigation, and effective policymaking all require uniform definitions.”
Joe Roberts, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, released a statement advocating for the legislation.
“For Jewish Oklahomans, HB 2243 is more than policy — it is a statement that Oklahoma stands firmly with the Jewish community against rising hate,” Roberts said. “By adopting the IHRA definition, Oklahoma is taking a crucial step in ensuring that our community is protected, our voices are heard, and our concerns are taken seriously. The IHRA definition is the gold standard in identifying and addressing antisemitism, and its adoption here will help build a safer and more inclusive Oklahoma for all.”
IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations. Dozens of US states have also formally adopted it through law or executive action.
According to the definition, 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.” It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.
The Oklahoma legislation describes the IHRA definition as “an essential definitional tool used to determine contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and includes useful examples of discriminatory anti-Israel acts that can cross the line into antisemitism.” The bill also notes its usage “by various agencies of the federal government and by over 30 governments around the world.”
Opponents of state legislation to codify into law the IHRA definition often claim that such moves threaten free speech, particularly criticism of Israel. However, the text of Waldron’s bill explicitly counters that objection, stating, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or the Oklahoma Constitution.”
The Oklahoma state legislature has scheduled the bill for its first reading on Feb. 3.
Other states where representatives have worked recently to introduce or pass similar laws utilizing the IHRA definition include New York, Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and South Dakota, among others. According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, as of Nov. 1, 2024, 1,262 entities worldwide have adopted the definition, including 45 countries, 37 US state governments, and 96 city and county governments.
In a Wednesday guest column in The Oklahoman, Roberts further advocated for the bill and defended the IHRA definition from its detractors’ conventional argument.
“Critics of the IHRA definition have raised concerns about free speech, arguing that defining antisemitism in law could suppress legitimate criticism of Israel. This is simply not true,” Roberts wrote. “The IHRA definition explicitly states that criticism of Israel, similar to that leveled against any other country, is not antisemitic. What the definition does do is distinguish between legitimate discourse and hateful rhetoric — such as denying Israel’s right to exist, holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s actions, or using classic antisemitic tropes to demonize the Jewish state.”
Roberts wrote that Waldron’s legislation “does not criminalize speech, it simply provides guidance for recognizing when antisemitism is at play.” He concluded his column warning that “antisemitism is not just a Jewish issue; it is a threat to the fabric of our society. It is an attack on the values that bind us together as Oklahomans and as Americans. If we are serious about protecting our way of life, we must act now. Pass HB 2243.”
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 8,800 Jews lived in Oklahoma in 2024, making up 0.22 percent of the state’s population.
Oklahoma Gov. J. Kevin Stitt has urged more Jews to move to Oklahoma and called for his fellow Christians to learn from Jewish traditions. “The Jewish community is welcome in Oklahoma,” he told the New York Post last year. “When you think about the values of who we are as Oklahomans it matches with the Jewish community, family-focused, very faith-focused, entrepreneurial, hard-working.”
Stitt, a self-described “Old Testament-loving Christian,” added, “Christians — we don’t do a good job of bringing the family together and really setting aside electronics and, and really focusing on the Sabbath. You know, one day a week, and I just think that’s something that we can learn a lot from the Jewish community.”
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel

People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival

Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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