BOSTON (SHNS) - At their first meeting this week, members of a new state panel tasked with combating the scourge of antisemitism in Massachusetts outlined priority issues, as well as the vitriol they have personally experienced over the past year. The commission, established through a fiscal 2025 state budget amendment, comes in the wake of Hamas's deadly attack on Israel in October 2023, which fueled a spike in antisemitic incidents across New England and controversial campus protests over the war in Gaza. Commission members -- who represent state government, the Jewish community, law enforcement and higher education, among other areas -- are supposed to deliver recommendations to the Legislature, including on how to implement the White House's strategy to combat antisemitism, by the end of November. But with the panel just beginning its work, the Senate last week approved a plan to grant the commission a one-year extension in a spending bill that still needs to be reconciled with the House. Co-chair Rep. Simon Cataldo said he and his counterpart, Sen. John Velis, are "focused on outcomes." "The public should expect strong, clear and specific recommendations when our work is complete," Cataldo said at the meeting Tuesday. "We will approach thorny questions humbly, diligently and with an open mind. We will do our best to draw in voices that are not already represented on this commission, including but not limited to Orthodox Jews, Israeli Jews and those who may have differing opinions about what counts as antisemitism." The Concord Democrat described Judaism as the "greatest gift that my parents gave me." Cataldo said the commission is slated to meet monthly, as members must also report on antisemitism data and trends in Massachusetts, identify and evaluate existing efforts here, explore best practices in other states, and assess any needed changes to hate crime statutes. Members did not delve into concrete timelines for their work or specific tasks they intend to accomplish before reconvening, though they signaled their mission is increasingly urgent. Gov. Maura Healey, who has authority to appoint two members to the group, announced her selections Tuesday. Cataldo and Velis were tapped to lead the group in early October.  Massachusetts recorded 440 antisemitic incidents last year, a nearly 190 percent increase from 2022, according to an April report from ADL New England. The commonwealth also logged the fifth highest number of antisemitic incidents across the country in 2023, the report found. And since Oct. 7, 2023, there were 500 antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts, said Peggy Shukur, vice president of ADL East. "This problem is increasing and it's manifesting in more and more hostile ways when you look at bomb threats, for example, at synagogues," said Shukur, who cautioned that antisemitic incidents are "probably greatly underreported" to the ADL. David Friedman, former top state Senate aide and now executive vice president of legal and government affairs for the Boston Red Sox, said his Israeli-American wife changed her Hebrew name on rideshare apps to hide her identity. "After Oct. 7, Massachusetts no longer feels safe," Friedman, one of Healey's appointees, said. "There are just too many echoes of 1930s Germany." Jeremy Burton, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, provided an overview of the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released in May 2023. The commission is charged with implementing it here. The strategy has four pillars of increasing awareness and understanding of antisemitism, improving safety and security for Jewish communities, reversing the "normalization" of antisemitism, and building "cross-community solidarity and collective action to counter hate." The 60-page document says tackling antisemitism "demands a whole-of-society effort." "Recommendations offered in this strategy for states and localities include, but certainly are not limited to, working with local government and community partners to pursue alternative approaches for addressing hate crimes, such as restorative justice programs, strengthening social services to support survivors of hate crimes and their communities," Burton said. "That may include culturally competent mental health services, creating a governor's council on genocide and Holocaust education -- including Jewish studies in ethnic studies and history curriculum, including Jewish history and positive Jewish contributions to America, and educating on Jewish diversity -- and increasing access to kosher, halal and other foods in order to meet religious diet needs in government-funded feeding programs." Some of that work is underway in Massachusetts. Former Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law in 2021 requiring that the history of Holocaust and other genocides be taught in middle schools and high schools, and his administration also re-established the Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes. Commission members on Tuesday, reflecting on Burton's presentation, signaled they are also interested in bolstering public education and understanding about what constitutes antisemitism, managing the clash between First Amendment rights and appropriate college campus protests, and improving hate crime reporting among law enforcement officials. Robert Leikind, director of American Jewish Committee New England, said that people "very often" do not understand antisemitism. "It's hard to have a conversation when people have so many different ideas, but also don't have the resources to recognize what many Jewish people conceive of as antisemitic," Leikind said. "And part of the challenge is how do you begin to educate people, create a language so that we begin to recognize what may be antisemitic, some of the tropes that circulate out that land very hard on Jewish people, but many others don't recognize and would be horrified to know how it lands on Jewish people." Velis, who acknowledged he is not Jewish and doesn't represent a district with a large Jewish population, said the stories he heard from constituents after Oct. 7 were "unconscionable and morally reprehensible." The Westfield Democrat, who led the push to create the commission, explained how the work could ultimately impact his two-year-old son when he grows older. "This commission will not result in an eradication of antisemitism or any forms of hate," Velis said. "But my hope is that when Carson gets to an age and he sees antisemitism and all forms of hate, he says, 'No, that's not cool. Stop. Stop what you're doing.' That's my hope, that we can start this process."