Florida Antisemitism: Definition, Penalties, and School Protections

Florida antisemitism laws define antisemitism in the state’s general statutes, increase criminal penalties when offenses are motivated by anti-Jewish bias, create specific crimes for projecting hateful imagery and disrupting religious gatherings, require Holocaust and antisemitism instruction in public schools, and treat antisemitic discrimination in education the same as racial discrimination. Victims can also file civil rights complaints and pursue damages under Chapter 760.

How Florida Defines Antisemitism

Section 1.015 of the Florida Statutes adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition. The legislature’s stated purpose is to help monitor and report antisemitic hate crimes and discrimination and to make Florida residents aware of such incidents.¹

Under the statute, antisemitism is a perception of Jewish people that may be expressed as hatred toward them. It reaches both verbal and physical conduct directed at Jewish and non-Jewish individuals, their property, and Jewish community institutions or religious facilities. The law lists eleven examples of antisemitic conduct, including conspiracy theories about Jewish collective control over media, government, or finance; Holocaust denial; holding all Jews responsible for actions of the State of Israel or of any individual Jewish person; denying Jewish people the right to self-determination; and applying double standards to Israel not expected of other democratic nations.¹

The statute carves out ordinary political criticism. Criticism of Israel comparable to criticism leveled at any other country is not antisemitism under Florida law, and the definition cannot be used to limit any rights protected by the First Amendment or to conflict with existing antidiscrimination laws.¹

Enhanced Penalties for Bias-Motivated Crimes

Antisemitism itself is not a separate crime in Florida. Instead, Section 775.085 reclassifies any felony or misdemeanor to a more serious category when the evidence shows the offense was motivated by prejudice based on the victim’s religion. The court record must show the defendant knew or reasonably should have known the victim belonged to the targeted group.²

The reclassification ladder works as follows:

A second-degree misdemeanor becomes a first-degree misdemeanor, raising maximum jail time from 60 days to one year.
A first-degree misdemeanor becomes a third-degree felony, moving the case from county jail to state prison for up to five years.
A third-degree felony becomes a second-degree felony, raising the maximum from five to 15 years.
A second-degree felony becomes a first-degree felony, raising the maximum from 15 to 30 years.
A first-degree felony becomes a life felony.

²³

The statute covers prejudice based on race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or advanced age.²

Specific Offenses Added in 2023

HB 269, enacted in 2023, created three new first-degree misdemeanors that often arise in antisemitic incidents. In each one, religious or ethnic hostility during the offense is treated as automatic evidence of prejudice for purposes of hate crime reclassification under Section 775.085, and any reclassified offense must be reported as a hate crime.

Projecting Images Onto Property Without Consent

It is now a first-degree misdemeanor to project or display an image onto another person’s building or property without the owner’s written consent. If the image shows religious or ethnic hostility, that fact alone triggers the hate crime enhancement.

Threatening or Intimidating Trespass on a College Campus

A separate provision makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to enter the campus of a state university or Florida College System institution without authorization, do so to threaten or intimidate another person, and then refuse to leave when told to go. Religious or ethnic hostility during the trespass is treated as prima facie evidence of prejudice for reclassification.

Disrupting a Religious or Other Assembly

Interrupting or disturbing an assembly is also addressed. When the offender shows religious or ethnic hostility during the disruption, that becomes prima facie evidence of prejudice, and any resulting enhanced offense must be reported as a hate crime.

Protections in Florida Schools

Florida addresses antisemitism in education through two separate mechanisms.

Required Holocaust and Antisemitism Instruction

Section 1003.42 requires public schools to teach the history of the Holocaust as part of the core curriculum, including the planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany. The instruction must also cover the state’s policy on antisemitism, its statutory definition, and historical and contemporary examples of antisemitic conduct as described in Section 1000.05(8). Each district must annually certify compliance to the Department of Education. The second week of November is designated Holocaust Education Week in recognition of the anniversary of Kristallnacht.⁴

Antisemitic Discrimination Treated as Racial Discrimination

Section 1000.05(8) requires every public K-20 educational institution to treat antisemitic discrimination by students, employees, or institutional policies identically to discrimination motivated by race. The statute lists examples that mirror the IHRA definition, including conspiracy theories about Jewish collective power, accusations of dual loyalty, and denial of the Jewish right to self-determination. As in Section 1.015, criticism of Israel comparable to criticism of other countries is protected, and the law cannot be used to limit First Amendment rights.⁵

Filing a Civil Rights Complaint in Florida

The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, in Chapter 760, prohibits discrimination based on religion and national origin in employment, housing, and public accommodations.⁶

You have 365 days from the incident to file a signed complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR). After the complaint is served on the respondent, the FCHR offers mediation. If mediation fails, the Commission investigates and decides whether there is sufficient evidence of discrimination.⁷

If the FCHR finds reasonable cause, you can either sue in civil court or request an administrative hearing. A court can order the discriminatory practice to stop, award back pay, and grant compensatory damages for mental anguish and loss of dignity. Punitive damages are available but capped at $100,000, and the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. Any civil lawsuit must be filed within one year of the FCHR’s reasonable cause determination.⁸

Public Contracting and Investment Rules on Boycotts of Israel

Florida treats boycotts of Israel as a form of antisemitic economic pressure and uses contracting and investment rules to counter them. Section 215.4725 defines a boycott of Israel broadly to include refusing to do business, cutting commercial ties, academic boycotts tied to Israeli institutions, and adverse actions such as downgrading a company’s financial or risk rating for nonfinancial reasons connected to Israel. A public statement that a company or institution is participating in such a boycott can itself be treated as evidence.⁹

The State Board of Administration compiles a public Scrutinized Companies list, updated quarterly, and must divest state investments from listed companies under Section 215.471. Public entities are restricted from contracting with listed companies.⁹

Federal Laws That Also Apply

Florida’s statutes sit alongside federal protections, and a single incident can trigger both.

Federal Hate Crime Prosecution

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, at 18 U.S.C. § 249, makes it a federal crime to willfully cause or attempt to cause bodily injury because of a person’s actual or perceived religion. Penalties reach 10 years in prison, or life if the crime results in death or involves kidnapping, sexual assault, or an attempt to kill. Conspiracy carries up to 30 years if serious bodily injury or death results.¹⁰ Potential civil rights violations can be reported to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division online or at 1-855-856-1247, and reports may be anonymous.¹¹

Workplace Religious Discrimination

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination by employers with 15 or more employees and requires reasonable accommodation of religious practices unless the employer can show substantial hardship. The Supreme Court tightened that standard in 2023, holding that an employer must show more than a trivial cost to deny an accommodation.¹²¹³¹⁴

Antisemitism in Federally Funded Schools

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in any program receiving federal funding. Although Title VI does not expressly mention religion, since 2004 the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has interpreted it to protect students facing discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, including Jewish students. A federally funded school that knows about antisemitic harassment severe enough to interfere with a student’s education and fails to act risks losing federal funding.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 1 Section 015 – Antisemitism
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.085 – Evidencing Prejudice While Committing Offense; Reclassification
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 775 Section 082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures
4
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 1003.42 – Required Instruction
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 1000.05 – Discrimination Against Students and Employees in the Florida K-20 Public Education System Prohibited
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 760 – Section 760.01 Purposes; Construction; Title
7
Florida Commission on Human Relations. File a Complaint
8
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 760.11 – Administrative and Civil Remedies
9
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 215.4725 – Scrutinized Companies or Other Entities That Boycott Israel
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts
11
U.S. Department of Justice. Contact the Department of Justice to Report a Civil Rights Violation
12
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Religious Discrimination
13
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge
14
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a Lawsuit