A leading candidate for a coveted open House seat in Phoenix is facing increased scrutiny from Jewish community leaders for her recent opposition to an antisemitism reporting bill that was overwhelmingly approved by Arizona’s state legislature last year.

Raquel Terán, a progressive activist and former state lawmaker running to succeed outgoing Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), was among nine Democratic state senators who voted against legislation requiring that Arizona’s Department of Public Safety collect information on criminal offenses motivated by antisemitism. The bill, signed into law last April, embraces the working definition of antisemitism promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which identifies some criticism of Israel as antisemitic.

Terán, who led the state Democratic Party before launching her House campaign two months ago, has not publicly explained her decision to oppose the legislation, even as she had previously voted in favor of a similar bill that ultimately stalled in the upper chamber. Now that she is seeking higher office amid a sharp uptick in antisemitic incidents — which the Biden administration is seeking to address at the federal level — some Jewish activists in Arizona are voicing skepticism of Terán’s broader commitment to the Jewish community’s ongoing concerns.

“I do not consider her a friend to the Jewish community and have never heard her stand up for our community,” state Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Jewish Democrat in Tucson who served with Terán in the state legislature, told Jewish Insider in a bluntly worded assessment on Monday. “When she had the opportunity to vote with our community to protect Arizona Jews from being targeted, she voted against it.”

Because of the vote and other concerns, Hernandez, who initially introduced legislation to track antisemitic incidents in 2020, said she “will not be supporting” Terán’s campaign or requesting help from Jewish or pro-Israel advocacy groups on her behalf. “I am always bothered by individuals who actually never did anything for the community and then run for Congress and want our support,” she told JI. 

A Jewish leader in Phoenix, who knows Terán personally, was more forgiving, even if he argued that her record in both chambers of the state legislature had raised questions over her approach to Israel, which she has not addressed publicly. “That’s what worries me,” he told JI this week. “I don’t want another member of the Squad.”

The Jewish community leader, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said he had heard that Terán voted against the antisemitism bill in solidarity with state Rep. Athena Salman, an outspoken critic of Israel who had opposed Hernandez’s bill, which faced resistance from progressive groups for promoting the IHRA definition. Salman, who is of Palestinian descent, is “very tight” with Terán, he said.

“One of the big questions about Raquel’s background,” said the Jewish leader, is whether she will align with the far left or if she will instead “lean toward moderation,” including on Middle East policy and antisemitism. “Is she going to be somebody who sides with” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), an Arizona Democrat who has opposed funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, “or is she going to be someone who is at least open to listening?”

In a statement to JI, Terán, who entered the state legislature in 2019, said she is opposed to antisemitism but did not explain her rationale for the vote. “Antisemitism is wrong and has no place in our country or anywhere in the world, and we must work together to combat it while promoting democracy and human rights,” she said in the statement, which was shared by a spokesperson on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said Terán’s campaign did not have time to broadly address her approach to Israel before this article was published.

Earlier this week, Terán, who is in her mid-40s, received a major endorsement from moderate Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a pro-Israel stalwart who has built close relationships with Jewish community leaders  in Arizona. In a statement, he said that Terán had been “an integral part of” his reelection campaign and praised her dedication to protecting “fair wages for Arizona workers and abortion rights,” among other things. “It’s that can-do spirit we need more of in Washington.”

The endorsement raised some eyebrows among Jewish leaders in Arizona, some of whom are pulling for other candidates with more moderate records. Hernandez, for her part, seemed unconvinced that Kelly’s nod was a possible sign that Terán could be seeking to widen her coalition in a crowded race. “Raquel is not an ally or a supporter of Israel or the Jewish community unless something has drastically changed since I’ve known her,” she claimed. 

Many Jewish voters surveyed by JI this week said they were unfamiliar with Terán’s engagement on community issues. “Unfortunately I’ve never seen her at an event with the Jewish community,” said one Jewish activist in Phoenix.

But some Jewish leaders said they are willing to take a wait-and-see approach at this early stage. Erika Neuberg, a Jewish community leader and pro-Israel activist in Arizona, said she is optimistic that Terán will be open to engaging proactively on Israel. “I’m confident that over time she’ll meet with the pro-Israel community and learn about our deep, shared interests,” Neuberg told JI on Tuesday. “We look forward to getting to know her.”

Democratic Majority for Israel, which frequently targets progressive primary candidates for straying from the Democratic mainstream on Middle East policy, hasn’t yet been in touch with Terán, according to a source familiar with the group’s outreach. The progressive advocacy group J Street didn’t respond to a request for comment about its engagement.

Terán is among five Democratic candidates now vying to replace Gallego in Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, which is safely blue. The five-term congressman, a vocal supporter of Israel who has been outspoken against rising antisemitism, announced he would run for Senate in January, paving the way for a hotly contested succession battle in Phoenix and its surrounding suburbs. 

The rest of the field includes Ylenia Aguilar, who sits on the board of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District; Yassamin Ansari, the vice mayor of Phoenix; Héctor Jaramillo, a Glendale school board member; and Laura Pastor, a Phoenix city councilwoman whose late father, Ed Pastor, was a former long-serving congressman in Phoenix. Their records on Jewish and pro-Israel issues also remain largely unknown to voters.

While Terán is widely viewed as the progressive favorite, experts say the race remains in flux as the primary is more than a year away. Thomas J. Volgy, a professor of political science at the University of Arizona, said in an email to JI that Terán and Pastor “may be the frontrunners, but it is virtually impossible to tell at this moment.”