A special meeting of the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board (ACRAB) occurred on Tuesday to respond to what Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) called a “surge” in “antisemitic crimes” throughout the state.
ACRAB is a “politically balanced volunteer body” of Arizonans appointed by the governor to three-year terms. There are currently three Republicans and three Democrats on ACRAB’s board, with one board seat vacant.
The advisory board’s meeting included Ben Griffith of Arizona State University (ASU), a Jewish student who attended last week’s meeting of the student government that was shut down by a pro-Palestine crowd throwing rocks at the window. Attendees ultimately required a police escort to leave the building.
“I don’t know if we truly were unsafe, but we were definitely uncomfortable and I felt unsafe,” Griffith said during the meeting.
Sarah Hader, the executive director of the Anti-Defamation League of Arizona, was also present at the meeting. Hader suggested Arizona pursue stricter laws against “swatting,” the practice of providing false information to law enforcement to provoke an extreme emergency response when the victim is in a place of worship.
Mayes pledged, “if you attack someone who is Jewish for being Jewish or someone who is Muslim for being Muslim, we’re going to prosecute you.”
Ultimately, the board voted to create a subcommittee to study hate crime allegations and suggest solutions, including legislation.
In a statement posted to her government website, Mayes said she is “committed to prosecuting violations of the law to the fullest extent,” and urged Arizonans to report alleged hate crimes to local authorities.
“With rising tensions boiling over, we must come together to uphold the values of our state and nation against those who seek to divide us with hate,” Mayes stated.
The press release also included a statement from Kader speaking on behalf of the Arizona ADL. Hader stated Arizona has “seen a steep increase in antisemitic incidents across the country and in Arizona over the last month since the war in Israel began, with no end in sight.”
The ADL has repeatedly been accused of supporting censorship of American conservatives. In September, Elon Musk claimed the ADL was responsible for former President Donald Trump being blacklisted on Twitter before he bought it and turned it into X. Before that, Musk said the ADL pushed Twitter to censor the “Libs of TikTok” account founded by Chaya Raichik, who is an Orthodox Jewish woman.
A bipartisan group of Arizona legislators condemned the “extremist, antisemitic views” of Representative Rashida Tlaib last week, ahead of her planned speaking engagement at ASU. The university later canceled that speaking event, citing security concerns.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kris Mayes” by Kris Mayes for Arizona. Background Photo “Arizona Capitol” by David Jiang. CC BY-SA 4.0.
