New Hate Crime Law, Finally

by The Editors

Persistence is a critical ingredient in effective political advocacy, a fact the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups have learned well.

That was evident last week when the Senate approved and sent to the White House a defense authorization bill that included a new hate crimes measure that the ADL helped draft — and which it has pushed with commendable vigor and skill since 1997.

The Jewish civil rights group called the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act “the most important, comprehensive and inclusive federal hate crime law enacted in the past 40 years.” It provides additional federal authority to help investigate and prosecute violent hate crimes, and explicitly extends coverage to crimes based on the victim’s gender, disability or sexual orientation.

It was that last category that led some Christian groups to label the legislation a concession to the “homosexual agenda” and make its defeat a top priority. Some claimed it would criminalize preaching against homosexuality.

In fact, the original legislation made it clear it applied only to crimes of violence, not to speech, and additional religious and free speech protections were added in recent years. Even the conservative Agudath Israel of America was satisfied it would not infringe on religious rights.

The ADL and a long list of other groups were motivated in their advocacy by this reality: all minorities are threatened when hate violence against any minority is tolerated.

Hate violence remains a depressingly persistent feature of American society. Today, Hispanic immigrants may be the most common victims, but anti-Semitic violence is hardly negligible. As Agudath Israel pointed out, Orthodox Jews make convenient targets every time the tide of hate rises.

Local variations in how vigorously hate violence is investigated and prosecuted remain a problem, necessitating stronger federal authority.

The ADL is hardly resting on its laurels; the group is now turning its attention to working with federal law enforcement officials to develop programs for training and implementation. The rules governing the new law will go a long way toward determining its effectiveness. We trust ADL will be just as persistent and effective in this as they were over the 12 long years it took to pass the new hate crimes law.

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Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization