Schwank Says Shapiro Would Sign IHRA Bill as She Plans Another Push
SB 1489 would add an antisemitism definition to Pennsylvania law with explicit constitutional safeguards. Its sponsor says there is insufficient time for passage in the current session.
Pennsylvania state Senator Judy Schwank says Governor Josh Shapiro would sign her antisemitism definition bill if the legislature passed it. “If we can get it through both bodies and get it to the governor’s desk, he will sign it,” the Democrat told JNS in an interview published on October 15.
Israel News Pulse could not independently find a direct public commitment from the governor. The expectation belongs to Schwank, who also said she introduced the measure knowing the session offered too little time to pass it.
The new proposal is SB 1489
The official bill text identifies SB 1489, printer's number 2029, introduced on October 13 and referred that day to the Senate State Government Committee. Schwank is joined on the document by nine other senators. The recorded referral is a preliminary legislative step, not approval by either chamber.
The proposal would amend Title 1 of Pennsylvania's consolidated statutes, which contains general rules for interpreting legislation. It supplies a meaning for antisemitism when a statute or regulation uses that word without defining it.
What the definition would cover
The text incorporates the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition and 11 examples to be considered in context. These include Holocaust denial, conspiracy claims about Jews and holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel's actions.
It also describes a criminal act as antisemitic when a person or property is selected because of an actual or perceived Jewish connection, and identifies denial of opportunities or services available to others as antisemitic discrimination.
Schools appear among the settings where examples may arise, but SB 1489 sets no lesson hours or curriculum requirements. Its proposed function is to guide the interpretation of existing legal language. It contains no new penalty or sentencing provision.
Rights safeguards appear in the text
The bill expressly excludes criticism of Israel comparable to criticism directed at other countries. It also says the new section must not diminish rights protected by the US First Amendment or Pennsylvania's constitution, or conflict with federal or state discrimination law.
IHRA adopted its working definition on May 26, 2016, as a nonbinding instrument. Incorporating a definition into state legislation is a separate legal step. The language of the particular bill therefore matters alongside the international definition it cites.
SB 127 is a different school measure
SB 127, sponsored by Senator Doug Mastriano, concerns mandatory instruction about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations. The ACLU of Pennsylvania's published opposition to that measure cites changes to regulatory review and concerns about protected political expression under an IHRA definition.
The ACLU statement names SB 127 and addresses that education measure. Schwank's SB 1489 and Mastriano's proposal both refer to IHRA, but would amend different parts of Pennsylvania law.
Why Schwank plans to return to it
Schwank told JNS she intends to reintroduce the proposal. She favors legislation over a governor's executive order because passage would demonstrate lawmakers' commitment to confronting antisemitism. She also argued that a common definition could help people reporting hate incidents, particularly in smaller Jewish communities.
Her account combines confidence in the governor with a warning about the legislative timetable. The immediate question is whether the proposal can advance beyond its committee referral; her stated fallback is another attempt in the next session.
