Indiana
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signs proclamation condemning antisemitism while vetoing bill defining it
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a bill Monday that would have defined antisemitism in state education code while simultaneously signing a proclamation condemning all forms of antisemitism.
The Republican governor cited changes made to the bill in the final days of the legislative session in a news release. Aimed at addressing antisemitism on college campuses, the bill’s opponents argued that early versions of it would penalize people for criticizing Israel.
Disagreements between lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state House and Senate threatened to kill the bill before reaching a compromise in the final hours of the legislative session on March 8.
This is the second time the state House has tried to pass the legislation; an identical bill died last year after failing to reach a committee hearing in the state Senate.
Around the country, similar legislation rose to prominence this session amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The proposal would broadly define antisemitism as religious discrimination, claiming it would “provide educational opportunities free of religious discrimination.”
Defined in 2016 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The original House bill used the organization’s definition, which its author has since warned against using in law. It also included “contemporary examples of antisemitism” provided by the group, which make explicit references to Israel. These have been adopted by the U.S. Department of State and under former President Donald Trump, through executive order.
Over 30 states have adopted the definition in some way either through proclamation, executive order or legislation.
State senators, however, passed an amended version of the bill earlier this month that still included the IHRA’s broad definition of antisemitism but deleted the group’s name and examples that include explicit references to Israel. Opponents including the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network and Jewish Voice for Peace Indiana had argued that such direct references would stifle criticism of Israel in academic settings and activism on campuses in support of Palestinians facing a worsening humanitarian crisis and widespread starvation.
The disagreement between the chambers prompted the bill to go to conference committee, a body consisting of lawmakers from both chambers. The committee reached an agreement on the last day of the legislative session to add the IHRA attribution back to the bill but remove the clause with examples. The final version was approved in both chambers with bipartisan support.
“The language that emerged in the final days of the legislative session fails to incorporate the entire International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition and its important contemporary examples,” Holcomb said about vetoing the bill. “Additionally, the confusing language included in the bill could be read to exclude those examples.”
The Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) said the group supported the final version of the bill after it passed, as did the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network, which was opposed to the original version over concerns about academic freedom and advocacy.
Holcomb’s support wasn’t clear after its passage. Last week, he expressed concern that Indiana would be an “outlier” among other states thanks to the changes and said he wanted to ensure there is no “ambiguity” in Indiana law.
Republican Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita called on Holcomb to veto the bill, saying it is “toothless” without the mention of the examples.
Holcomb’s proclamation condemning antisemitism cites the IHRA definition and its examples. In a statement, Holcomb said the proclamation “ensures we join numerous states and countries by supporting the entire IHRA definition with its inextricable examples.”
The JCRC thanked Holcomb in a statement for his “thoughtful” consideration of “the concerns raised in recent days by national experts and the Attorney General.”
The group said it will work closely with lawmakers and the state to “ensure that the guidance of Governor Holcomb’s proclamation is correctly applied to identify and confront antisemitism and meet the needs of Jewish students in K-12 and higher educational settings.”
Holcomb has not vetoed a bill since 2022. Lawmakers can easily overturn a veto in Indiana and only need a simple majority to do so. It’s unclear though if or when lawmakers might reconvene.
The push to define antisemitism in numerous states predates the Oct. 7 attacks in which Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, sparking a war that has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians. But the war gave supporters of the push another motivation. This year, governors in Arkansas, Georgia and South Dakota signed measures and a proposal is still awaiting gubernatorial review in Florida.
Indiana
Holiday train decorated with Christmas lights thrills crowd in Indiana
Indiana
Todd’s Take: Kanaan Carlyle Makes A Welcome Return To The Indiana Rotation
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If ever there was a game Indiana’s men’s basketball team needed to win, it was a home game to start the Big Ten season against a Minnesota team that is still trying to find itself.
A loss against the Golden Gophers Monday would have had Indiana fans howling – and rightfully so. The constantly rebuilding Gophers – the transfer portal and NIL era have not been kind to the maroon-and-gold – are in a state of flux and were playing their first true road game of the season. The Gophers have already lost four games and Minnesota is an odds-on favorite to be one of the three Big Ten teams to miss the 15-team Big Ten Tournament in March.
So while a victory over Minnesota won’t help Indiana’s resume much, a loss would have deep-sixed it. So it was a must-win.
Early in Monday’s contest at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, it seemed the Gophers and Hoosiers were engaged in a contest of first-to-100 wins, not really a sustainable route to success.
Both teams made their first 11 of 15 shots as defense was a concept that seemed lost on both teams. Yes, the offenses were decent, but the defenses were that bad. The game was going to go to the team that was able to figure out to get stops.
That’s where Indiana is at an advantage with its depth. It could call on Kanaan Carlyle off the bench.
After missing the last three games with an undisclosed lower body injury, Carlyle returned to the rotation on Monday – and not a moment too soon.
It’s no accident that Minnesota went into the deep freeze offensively shortly after Carlyle entered the game for the first time with 14:07 left in the first half. At the time, both teams were still in the ascendent offensively, but it didn’t last.
Starting with just under 12 minutes left in the first half, Carlyle was part of an Indiana five that turned the screws on the Gophers.
Carlyle was at the center of the stand. Along with Trey Galloway, Bryson Tucker, Luke Goode and Oumar Ballo, Minnesota could not score.
Minnesota would miss seven shots in a row, the stopping power in what became a 16-1 run that gave Indiana the margin it needed to eventually earn an 82-67 victory.
“My teammates and my coaches threw a lot at me, just telling me to be more aggressive offensively and defensively, so just went out there and do whatever I can to win,” Carlyle said.
Carlyle was opportunistic with a steal in the first half, but his influence was felt less in statistical bona fides than it was in just having a defensive attitude on the floor.
“Every day we take pride in our defense. Woody (Indiana coach Mike Woodson) preaches defense, so I knew when I came here my job us going to be to be that two-way player, so I take pride in that individually and my teammates all encourage me and they be up there with me, so it’s easy for me to bring that energy when you got teammates behind you who bring the same energy,” Carlyle said.
It’s something that comes and goes for the Hoosiers. Overall, Indiana’s defensive stats are relatively decent, including a field goal defense of 40% entering Monday’s game, good for 61st nationally.
However, it’s not consistent. Carlyle seems to smooth out those inconsistencies when he’s on the floor.
Carlyle got the chance to watch what Indiana does and doesn’t do well defensively and now has the opportunity to mold that into his own plan of attack.
“I feel like when we’re playing fast, when we’re all sharing the rock and we all play together, it works magic. When we’re all scoring the ball, when we all up playing defense and bring high energy, I don’t think there’s no team in the country that can beat us,” Carlyle said.
“When we do get comfortable, that’s when stuff starts to fall off and that’s when teams start to make their runs back, so we just got to make sure we put a good 40 minutes together where we play hard all 40 and not in spurts,” Carlyle added.
If all Carlyle does for the Hoosiers is to make them better on the defensive end, that’s worth it alone, but Carlyle was also valuable on the offensive end as he had his most productive game in an Indiana uniform from a scoring standpoint.
Carlyle had 14 points, two better than his previous Indiana best in a game against South Carolina on Nov. 16. He was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, the only long range threat the Hoosiers had. Carlyle added five assists and three rebounds.
This is the player both the coaching staff and fans thought they were getting when Carlyle transferred from Stanford.
It will be interesting to see if Carlyle can use Monday’s game as a beachhead to better things. Indiana could really benefit from consistency from one of its guards.
So far, the Hoosiers have been getting good games from a guard or two per game, but it’s been inconsistent across the board for most of the backcourt. Witness the combined three points Myles Rice and Trey Galloway scored against the Gophers one game after they combined for 30 points.
So if Carlyle can help deliver consistent production, so much the better for Indiana. And he doesn’t really care what role he has in doing it.
“I’m perfectly fine with coming off the bench. I want to win games, whether it’s being the sixth man, eighth man, tenth man starting two guard, I don’t care,” Carlyle said. “As long as we win, I’m here to do my job, to play defense and provide what I can on offense. That’s it.”
Indiana
Indiana Basketball Availability Report Against Minnesota
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has a few notable designations on the Big Ten availability report ahead of Monday’s game against Minnesota.
Sophomore guard Gabe Cupps is listed out, so he’ll miss his third straight game. Cupps didn’t score in his first four games on four attempts from the field, but he totaled three assists, two steals and rebounds. Without Cupps, Indiana will still have a deep group of guards in Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, Trey Galloway, Bryson Tucker and Anthony Leal.
Senior center Oumar Ballo is listed questionable. He’s coming off a huge game in the Hoosiers’ 76-57 win over Miami of Ohio on Friday, putting up 14 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He’s averaging 12.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks per game on 67.7% shooting. If Ballo can’t play, that would likely mean more minutes for Langdon Hatton.
Cupps and Ballo were the only Hoosiers on the report, which means sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle is available for Monday’s game. Carlyle missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury, but he started Indiana’s first six games and averaged 4.5 points on 27% shooting.
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