Antisemitism is hard to define. Here in Kentucky, we’re trying to get to the root of it. | Opinion

Todd Kelly’s op-ed piece last week asks a challenging question: When does anti-Zionist speech cross the line into antisemitism? Kentucky was the first state to adopt an international working definition of antisemitism, and with some examples the answers are obvious: Yes, blood libels such as “Israeli snipers deliberately target Palestinian children” are antisemitic; No, legitimate criticism of the Israeli government is not. But in other specific cases, these analyses — including alternatives offered by scholars — require a Talmudic-like inquiry into nuance, motive and context.

Ultimately, policing constitutionally-protected free speech — no matter how abhorrent – is not the province of the Kentucky Antisemitism Task Force. When Governor Andy Beshear created the task force, and asked me to chair it, he was interested in us getting to the source of the problem, building bridges among faith leaders, and most importantly, doing something about rising antisemitism and hatred in Kentucky and across the country.

Over the past 15 months, we’ve made progress. We’ve focused first on the disease of antisemitism, which often times is borne of ignorance. Our General Assembly recognized this in 2018 when it passed legislation to mandate Holocaust education in our public schools. Our task force closely examined the progress in this area, and we recognized that there is a lot more that needs to be done to honor our legislature’s commitment.

We are especially excited about the incredible work being done by the University of Kentucky/Jewish Heritage Fund Holocaust Education Initiative to train teachers across the Commonwealth on this subject matter. What’s especially wonderful about this program is that it doesn’t merely focus attention on the horrific experience in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, but that it puts this in the context of more than 2,000 years of antisemitism that’s plagued my community.

When young people understand the nature of hate and its manifestations, they are less likely as adults to join in efforts that promote antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism. We will be asking the General Assembly next year to help more fully fund this outstanding program so that we share this education in every corner of the Commonwealth.

The Task Force is also focused on the symptoms of antisemitism, namely the physical danger many in the Jewish community feel, particularly in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorism inflicted on the people of Israel. Just a few weeks after the attack, my synagogue was forced to evacuate during Sunday School due a bomb threat that was made against congregations across the country; it was a traumatic experience for the children and teachers such as my daughter. Our houses of worship and community centers — just like our schools and college campuses — must be places of refuge and safety, not targets for violence or threats thereof.

That’s why under the Governor’s leadership, we have launched a new Interfaith Security Collaborative, bringing together faith leaders from a broad umbrella of religions and Christian denominations. We’ve already held a security training session, but plan to do much more in terms of accessing federal grants to promote security in churches, synagogues, mosques and temples across the state. We also see this as a great way to build bridges among different faith traditions during these challenging times.

I encourage you to follow the ongoing work of our task force. At this website, we share video recordings of all of our meetings, as well as resources for action and protection.

Our task force is dedicated to action. We’ve got a lot more work to do, and we welcome your input.

Jonathan Miller, the former Kentucky State Treasurer, serves as Chair of the Kentucky Antisemitism Task Force.

This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 7:00 AM.