In an ongoing struggle for free speech, a dedicated coalition of Ohioans from across the state have worked diligently to defeat legislation that conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism and ties it to heightened criminal penalties. Lawmakers attached the same provisions to multiple bills in a deceptive legislative bundling maneuver to fast-track controversial measures by contributing to ‘Christmas Tree’ bills during the lame duck session. Wednesday night December 18 marked the end of the 135th General Assembly and advocates remain energized and committed to protecting First Amendment rights in 2025. 

Last week, the Ohio Senate passed S.B. 297 after extensive opponent testimony. The bill, which seeks to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and expand charges of ethnic intimidation, did not have time to pass the House as a standalone bill before the end of the  legislative session. In a last-minute effort to secure passage, lawmakers backed by the Israel lobby pushed to combine its provisions with H.B. 315, a bill which aims to revise township policy. Representatives overwhelmingly rejected these provisions, blocking them from passing both chambers and being sent to the governor with the rest of H.B. 315. The provisions would have to be reintroduced in the next General Assembly to be considered again.

Language from S.B. 297 was expected to be added to S.B. 158 as well, a bill originally about municipal finance. Activists and organizers statewide have worked around the clock, mobilizing to stamp out the anti-democratic provisions in whatever bills they show up in. Antisemitism is already defined by Governor DeWine’s 2022 Executive Order and codifying these provisions would mandate state agencies, including colleges and universities, to enforce the IHRA definition in investigations and decision-making processes.

If signed into law, the provisions would likely work synchronously with far-right efforts toward achieving the objectives of Project Esther, an addition to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, that focuses on eliminating support networks for the Palestine solidarity movement. Project Esther advocates for the use of new and existing laws to target and remove those with sympathies for the Palestinian cause from American institutions, including college professors and students. The text highlights a number of actions to combat  “Hamas Support Organizations” (HSO), a catch-all term used to describe groups that advocate for Palestinian human rights. It calls for a conservative administration to deport foreign HSO leaders and members, block their funding, and prosecute them for legal and criminal violations. The legal use of an intentionally vague definition of antisemitism will make it easier to target and remove college professors and students, amongst others, who express support for the end of the genocide in Gaza or the apartheid in the occupied West Bank. The potential legal embrace of the IHRA definition is a purposeful and systematic attempt to stifle voices and dismantle networks of organizers working to end U.S. support for the actions of the Israeli government against the people of Palestine.

It is unclear which lawmakers are driving the persistent attempt to bundle S.B. 297’s provisions with other legislation. Terry Johnson, the sponsor of S.B. 297, is a republican state senator representing the 14th district. Johnson has been a vocal advocate for other right-wing legislation in the past. In 2021, Johnson sponsored Senate Bill 157, a misleading bill which added barriers to abortion access in Ohio. Lauren Blauvelt-Copelin, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio’s VP of government affairs stated "The law that S.B. 157 purports to create already exists in our state. But lawmakers used this bill as a trojan horse to hide the true, insidious intent of the bill: A last-minute, targeted restriction on abortion providers (TRAP law) that would allow the Department of Health to revoke ambulatory surgical licenses, shutting down health centers and fully eliminating abortion access in Southwest Ohio." 

Additionally, Johnson supported and defended H.B. 68, which sought to restrict gender affirming care for trans youth. Johnson stated in a previous press release that, “Senate Bill 297 would expand the offense of ethnic intimidation to include both riot and aggravated riot committed by reason of the race, color, religion, or national origin of another person or group of persons. The bill will also define antisemitism so state agencies can investigate and lead proceedings on these offenses,” only to contradict himself during a hearing by saying that the IHRA definition will not be used for criminal investigations.

The push to codify the IHRA definition of antisemitism is happening amid continuing escalation of the war in Palestine. Last week, Israel launched an invasion of western Syria following the sudden fall of the Syrian government headed by Bashar al-Assad. Ostensibly, Israel is seeking to create a “buffer zone” to prevent the transport of munitions from Iran. A similar so-called defensive invasion of neighboring Lebanon was conducted earlier this year. Both the invasion of Lebanon and of Syria represent substantial expansions of the territory controlled by the Israeli state.

This effort to codify broad definitions of anti-semitism seems designed to stifle criticism of the Israeli state at a time of tremendous violence by its armed forces towards people in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and a looming possibility of joint Israeli-US military action against Iran in 2025. Criticism of the genocide in Gaza has grown steadily since the attacks of October 7, 2023. Last summer saw a broad student protest movement against the genocide of Gazans at the hands of the Israeli state. Campuses across the country, from Columbia to Case Western to University of California, saw student encampments, and subsequent violent repression by police and right-wing mobs.