|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Governor Mike Kehoe today signed HB 2061, landmark legislation aimed at combating antisemitic discrimination in Missouri’s public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.
The law defines antisemitism using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, including its illustrative examples, making Missouri the 18th U.S. state to codify this vital framework for identifying and countering antisemitism in its many contemporary forms.
HB 2061 mandates the integration of the IHRA definition into student, faculty, and employee codes of conduct, and facilitates stricter enforcement of Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act by directing the Missouri State Board of Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to each designate a Title VI coordinator to monitor, report, and investigate cases of antisemitism.
“The enactment of this law shows Missouri’s commitment to proactive leadership in the fight against rising antisemitism,” David Soffer, Director of State Engagement for the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). “Jewish students, faculty, and staff around the state can be rest assured their elected officials will have their backs when they face hatred simply for who they are.”
“By codifying the IHRA definition, Missouri is embracing a proven and practical tool for addressing and tackling antisemitism with clarity and purpose,” he added.
The legislation was sponsored by State Representative George Hruza and State Senator Curtis Trent.
— Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) April 23, 2026
Prior to Thursday’s bill signing, Soffer and CAM Founder Adam Beren met with Governor Kehoe and State Attorney General Catherine Hanaway at the State Capitol.
Soffer framed the Missouri law’s passage and signing as part of a broader national movement to protect Jewish communities and a signal that state governments were increasingly willing to act against antisemitism.
“The new law reflects the kind of principled leadership that Jewish communities have been demanding,” he noted.
Over the past year, CAM has prioritized educating state legislators across the U.S. on antisemitism-related issues and potential policy remedies.
In this time, CAM has tracked legislative initiatives put forth in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, and eight of these states — Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and now Missouri — have enacted new laws since April 2025.
In June 2025, lawmakers and executive officials from 17 states convened in Kansas City, Missouri, for the first-ever CAM-hosted State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism.
