Newly created Ky. Antisemitism Task Force meets for first time

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Lawmakers, law enforcement, and religious leaders were among those gathered in the capital city on Wednesday with their collective sights set on creating change.

Kentucky’s Antisemitism Task Force is made up of 18 members, who were joined by Governor Andy Beshear as they started to tackle the topic of hate crimes in the commonwealth.

“We are making a statement that admits that hate does exist in the world, that antisemitism is real and that we acknowledge it,” said Gov. Beshear.

The Anti-Defamation League presented to the group, bringing data which shows that instances of antisemitism have risen significantly in Kentucky since the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

“In 2023, there were two incidents of antisemitism before October 7th, and 14 after October 7th,” said Fishman, who serves as a regional director for the ADL, overseeing Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania in addition to Kentucky.

The force is tasked with several objectives, which include reviewing those threats and addressing the issue at all levels of Kentucky’s education system – particularly on college campuses.

“We want our kids to go to college to learn how to have conversations with people who are different than they are,” Fishman said. “We’re not all the same in this room, and yet we’ve come together for a shared goal. How do we teach our kids that?”

They also want to develop training programs for law enforcement – programs which the governor says were not well developed, even within his state government.

“When I became Governor, we found that we had some training materials across state government that weren’t right, that weren’t teaching our folks to recognize biases…and in fact had some things in them that didn’t belong whatsoever,” Gov. Beshear said.

Gov. Beshear says this force ultimately is about making people of the Jewish faith, and of all faiths, feel safe and valued.

“For too long, we have let the loud minority yell at school board meetings and yell at legislators…we have to start being the louder ones,” said Fishman.

The task force is required by its executive order to meet quarterly. But the group intends to convene more frequently, planning to do so every other month. They also say a ‘ky.gov’ email address will soon be set up, so that the public can send in their own ideas and resources.

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