Anti-Semitism
legislation bad idea
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
In a recent Op/Ed column, “Virginia should adopt anti-Semitism legislation,” Kenneth Marcus writes that to protect Jewish students on Virginia campuses, the legislature must adopt HB2261, enshrining the State Department definition of anti-Semitism into law. That definition includes protected speech about Israel. This approach will harm the academy and Jewish students.
Anti-Semitic harassment and intimidation certainly have no place on campus. But students and faculty must feel free to engage difficult discussions and say what they think.
The bill’s definition is based on one I wrote for European data collectors. It was never intended to regulate campus speech. Yet previous federal complaints have misused the definition, arguing that anti-Israel or anti-Zionist political speech constitutes anti-Semitic harassment, putting the school’s federal funding in jeopardy.
How long then before pro-Palestinian students would ask Virginia to codify what anti-Palestinian means? Would Jewish students who say a Palestinian state shouldn’t exist have their speech suppressed too?
If the bill passes, the legislature will surely be asked to define what anti-Islam means, and racism too.
Additionally, many pro-Palestinian students are Jewish. Their Jewish identity may be less connected with Israel than that of their pro-Israel brethren, but the Virginia legislature shouldn’t advance one version of what it means to be Jewish over another.
The bill also only addresses discrimination against Jews. Why shouldn’t Muslims, Christians and others enjoy the same protections?
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education suggest a better alternative. Focus on discrimination “against students based on anti-Semitism or against students of any faith based on hostility toward their actual or perceived religion, ancestry or ethnic characteristics.” This would clarify when conduct loses its protection under the First Amendment because it is harassing. I encourage the legislature to protect Jewish students with this approach, which will not infringe campus speech.
Kenneth S. Stern,
Executive Director,Justus & Karin Rosenberg Foundation.Rhinebeck, N.Y.
