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Resolution 2025-227 RESOLUTION NO. 2025 - 227 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING ANTI-SEMITISM, BIGOTRY, DISCRIMINATION, PREJUDICE, AND ALL EXPRESSIONS OF HATRED. WHEREAS, the Collier County Board of Commissioners wishes to support the State of Florida's definition of antisemitism under section 1.015, Florida Statutes, which is currently the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)'s working definition of antisemitism, including specific examples to help guide law enforcement and other local agencies; and WHEREAS, antisemitism is defined as a "certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward such individuals. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and their property and toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities," and WHEREAS, contemporary examples of antisemitism include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (a) Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jewish individuals. (b) Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jewish individuals as such or the power of Jewish people as a collective, such as the myth of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy or of Jewish individuals controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions. (c) Accusing Jewish people as a collective of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group or for acts committed by non-Jewish individuals. (d) Denying the fact, scope, and mechanisms, such as gas chambers, or the intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of Nazi Germany and its supporters and accomplices during the Holocaust. [22-BCC-00996/1744470/1] (e) Accusing Jewish people as a collective, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust. (f) Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jewish individuals worldwide, than to the interests of their respective nations. (g) Denying Jewish people their right to self-determination, such as claiming that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor. (h) Applying double standards by requiring of the Jewish State of Israel a standard of behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation. (i) Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism, such as blood libel, to characterize Israel or Israelis. (j) Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. (k) Holding Jewish individuals collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel. WHEREAS, Jews continue to be a targeted minority in the United States and are consistently the most likely of all religious groups to be victimized by incidents of hate; Such incidents are increasing at an alarming rate; in 2024, nearly 10,000 antisemitic incidents were reported in this country- a nearly 50-year high, with reports since the 10.7 terror attacks increasing by nearly 350 percent, and WHEREAS, after a series of disturbing public incidents in Southwest Florida, the Collier County Board of Commissioners in October 2022 forcefully condemned antisemitism in all forms and expressions, and WHEREAS, the IHRA definition has been endorsed and adopted by more than 1,200 entities, from nations, states, cities and counties to colleges and universities, corporations and nonprofit agencies, including the counties of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, as well as the City of Naples (in March 2024), and [22-BCC-00996/1744470/I] WHEREAS, the definition of antisemitism does not include criticism of Israel that is akin to criticism of any other country, and that support of this definition is not to be construed as an infringement upon any right protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or to conflict with federal or state antidiscrimination laws. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, that the stated definition of antisemitism is hereby supported by the Board, with this resolution becoming effective immediately upon adoption. This Resolution adopted upon majority vote on this Z1'day of Octjer , 2025. ATTEST: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Crystal K. Kinzel, Clerk of Courts COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA By:".1 -- — — Ai' By: A �C Attest as to Chairmarvs . I -•h ty lerk " Burt L. Saunders, Chairman signature only Approve. elm and legality: I1M Jeffrey A. I at.'o, County Attorney [22-BCC-00996/1744470/1]