The House Chamber at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. (Photo credit: wikicommons/Ruhrfisch)
Pennsylvania may have a Jewish governor, but it still has a long way to go when it comes to enacting policies that protect its Jewish residents, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Earlier this month, the ADL released a new tool called the Jewish Policy Index that scores all 50 states on legislation, educational efforts and protections for Jewish residents, assigning them a score of zero to 100 and color coding the state relative to its peers.
The Keystone State scored a 41 out of 100, leaving it colored yellow, as opposed to the worst (red) or the best (green).
ADL Philadelphia Senior Regional Director Andrew Goretsky made a point of saying that the JPI is not meant to quantify the health of a state’s Jewish life, just the policies enacted by its government.
“This tool is a comprehensive benchmark of policies in place that exist to fight antisemitism, not a focus on the number of incidents. It’s not a focus on the vibrancy of Jewish life in that state. This is really about the criteria that are in place. [We looked] at the legislation across all 50 states,” he said.
Goretsky said that Pennsylvania falls short relative to states like California and Florida, which scored a 94 and 82, respectively, largely because the state has yet to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and does not have an antisemitism task force. The IHRA definition, which has been covered extensively as New Jersey fights to codify it, was passed via resolution in 2023 but has yet to be formally ratified, Goretsky said.
“That’s a big piece of why Pennsylvania is still in the middle,” he said.
Pennsylvania has passed some legislation against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policies, which aim to push organizations and governments to refuse to fund Israeli businesses and institutions in order to force the country to change its policies toward Palestinians. The state has some legislation requiring Holocaust education in schools, but it does not have a Holocaust education task force. Pennsylvania does have a state nonprofit security grant program that sees Jewish institutions, among others, receive funds to improve their security, but it does not have a hate crime commission. Overall, Pennsylvania could be doing more, Goretsky said.
Andrew Goretsky. (Courtesy of Andrew Goretsky)
“[Leading states have] formal policies and legislation addressing antisemitism. They’ve adopted things like IHRA. They may have an active antisemitism task force, which Pennsylvania does not have yet. And so these are the things that are in place to specifically fight the scourge of antisemitism,” Goretsky said.
The JPI will be updated at least on an annual basis, but if there are notable changes in a state’s efforts to combat antisemitism, it will be updated as those changes are made.
Goretsky said that if the IHRA definition were to pass in Pennsylvania, the JPI would quickly reflect that.
In a press release announcing the tool, ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said that this index is necessary, considering the environment that American Jews find themselves in today.
“ADL has long been calling for a whole-of-government approach to fighting antisemitism, and the Jewish Policy Index fills a critical gap by providing a clear road map for states to support their Jewish communities,” he said. “With antisemitic incidents at record highs nationwide, we need more than rhetoric. We need real, measurable policy action. This tool offers us a comprehensive picture of where states are and what steps they can take to do better. We urge state lawmakers to take swift and decisive action to enact strong policies and laws that protect their Jewish communities.”
Other states in the area received similar grades. New Jersey and Maryland are coded yellow, both scoring 46, while New York is green with a 79. Delaware is one of 11 states colored red: The First State scored only 29 out of 100 on the JPI scale.
Delaware has yet to pass anti-BDS legislation, has not adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism and does not have an overall state strategy in attacking antisemitism, according to the JPI.
Danny Barefoot, senior director of ADL’s Ratings and Assessments Institute, said in the release that the JPI is meant to be a resource that sparks change on the state level.
“The Jewish Policy Index is both a road map and a reality check,” he said. “Too many states are still falling short when it comes to protecting their Jewish communities. We built the Index to push policy forward, equip advocates with data and hold lawmakers accountable. Fighting antisemitism requires more than outrage. It demands action, and that’s exactly what this Index is designed to drive.”