Mondoweiss
New anti-Semitism legislation may stifle campus activism for Palestinian rights
Activism
Annie Robbins on December 1, 2016 19 Comments
Student protest at Tufts University (Photo: Tufts SJP)
Increasingly, students on American campuses perceive advocating for justice in
Palestine as a moral imperative. The steady growth of the Boycott Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian freedom has been met by a wave
legislation aimed at punishing or suppressing our 1st amendment rights to free
speech and silencing student activism. The latest of these bills is the
Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, introduced yesterday by U.S. Senators Bob Casey
(D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC), which redefines anti-Semitism to include criticism
of Israel.
Ostensibly, according to Senators Casey and Scott, the purpose of the
legislation is to “ensure the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has the
necessary statutory tools at their disposal to investigate anti-Jewish
incidents”, implying previous investigations by the DOE, which failed to
substantiate accusations of anti-Semitism, lacked sufficient tools to
criminalize activism critical of Israel on campus.
Jewish Voice for Peace says the bill would “codify a controversial State
Department definition of anti-Semitism that broadly defines criticism of the
state of Israel as anti-Semitic.” And Kenneth Stern, the American Jewish
Committee’s specialist on anti-Semitism and one of the drafters of the State
Department’s definition of anti-Semitism, thinks “official adoption of the
State Department’s definition would do more harm than good.” He doesn’t think
the definition should be used as a speech code for university students and
rejected that proposal in an op-ed in the Jewish Journal last year:
“… official adoption of the State Department’s definition would do more harm
than good. I say this sadly, as the lead author of the somewhat more detailed
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia’s (EUMC) “working
definition on anti-Semitism,” upon which the State Department definition is
based, and as a strong advocate of State’s use of the definition in its global
work.
The EUMC definition was crafted as a tool for data collectors in European
countries to identify what to include and exclude from their reports about
anti-Semitism, and to have a common frame of reference so that data might be
compared across borders. …
But to enshrine such a definition on a college campus is an ill-advised idea
that will make matters worse, and not only for Jewish students; it would also
damage the university as a whole.
(JVP), press release: Instead of fighting anti-Semitism, new Senate bill
threatens free speech
Instead of fighting anti-Semitism, new Senate bill threatens free speech
Fast-tracked “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” designed to condemn criticism of
Israel
December 1, 2016 – The United States Senate is due to consider the
“Anti-Semitism Awareness Act,” a bill that, rather than fight anti-Semitism as
it purports to do, will enable a crackdown against activism for Palestinian
human rights on college campuses. Introduced and fast-tracked this week by
Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC), the bill would codify a
controversial State Department definition of anti-Semitism that broadly defines
criticism of the state of Israel as anti-Semitic.
The bill is supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the
Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Simon
Wiesenthal Center. “Given the silence of most of those organizations on the
appointment of Bannon, an actual white supremacist anti-Semite to a position of
power in the White House, and their poor track records of Islamophobia, it is
outrageous that they are pushing through this legislation targeted at student
activism for Palestinian human rights,” said Tallie Ben Daniel, academic
program manager of Jewish Voice for Peace. “Instead of fighting the
anti-Semitism entering the White House, this bill will go after 19-year-old
students carrying protest signs against human rights abuses. This is not how to
fight anti-Semitism, this is a recipe for restricting civil liberties like the
right to criticize a government for its policies.”
The legislation would codify a problematic definition of anti-Semitism that
right-wing Israel advocates have been trying for years to implement on college
campuses in order to police student criticism of Israeli policy. The State
Department’s definition of anti-Semitism includes vague wording regarding
“demonizing” the state of Israel that can and has been interpreted to stifle
legitimate criticism of Israel’s human rights abuses and discriminatory
policies. Civil rights groups, free speech advocates and news outlets including
the Los Angeles Times editorial board have raised free speech concerns about
the implementation of this definition. Kenneth Stern, the lead author of the
European Monitoring Centre’s definition upon which the state department
definition is based, stated that to use this definition on college campuses
would “do more harm than good.”
“We must be vigilant to fight against the intensified racism, Islamophobia and
anti-Semitism that have been unleashed by Trump’s campaign and the threat of
racist, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies promised by his incoming
administration. It is more essential than ever that our lawmakers and Jewish
communal leaders insist that fighting anti-Semitism go hand in hand with
fighting racism and Islamophobia, not reinforce them with misguided legislation
designed to defend Israeli policies, not Jews.” said Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy
director of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Liz Jackson, civil rights attorney with Palestine Legal and cooperating counsel
with the Center for Constitutional Rights: “As Trump calls for jailing flag
burners, every lawmaker must stand up to protect cherished First Amendment
freedoms to criticize the government. That includes the right of college
students to criticize the U.S. and foreign governments like Israel. Regardless
of one’s views on Palestine-Israel, we should all be alarmed at this attempt to
pile on top of Trump’s attacks on free speech rights. It is plainly
unconstitutional for Congress, the Department of Education, a state
legislature, or any public school to punish campus speech critical of Israel.”
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act merits full consideration and a public debate.
•
•
•
•
• About
• Advertise
• Comments Policy
• Site Status
• Archives
• 100 Recent Comments
• Register
• Log in
• Donate
Advertising
•
http://mondoweiss.net/wp-content/plugins/oiopub-direct/modules/tracker/go.php?id=28
http://mondoweiss.net/wp-content/plugins/oiopub-direct/modules/tracker/go.php?id=28
Mondoweiss
News & Opinion About Palestine, Israel & the United States
Search for:
• http://mondoweiss.net/
• Israel/Palestine
• Middle East
• US Politics
• Activism
• Features
New anti-Semitism legislation may stifle campus activism for Palestinian rights
Activism
Annie Robbins on December 1, 2016 19 Comments
• Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
valid.
• Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
valid.
• Adjust Font Size
Student protest at Tufts University (Photo: Tufts SJP)
Increasingly, students on American campuses perceive advocating for justice in
Palestine as a moral imperative. The steady growth of the Boycott Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian freedom has been met by a wave
legislation aimed at punishing or suppressing our 1st amendment rights to free
speech and silencing student activism. The latest of these bills is the
Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, introduced yesterday by U.S. Senators Bob Casey
(D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC), which redefines anti-Semitism to include criticism
of Israel.
Ostensibly, according to Senators Casey and Scott, the purpose of the
legislation is to “ensure the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has the
necessary statutory tools at their disposal to investigate anti-Jewish
incidents”, implying previous investigations by the DOE, which failed to
substantiate accusations of anti-Semitism, lacked sufficient tools to
criminalize activism critical of Israel on campus.
Jewish Voice for Peace says the bill would “codify a controversial State
Department definition of anti-Semitism that broadly defines criticism of the
state of Israel as anti-Semitic.” And Kenneth Stern, the American Jewish
Committee’s specialist on anti-Semitism and one of the drafters of the State
Department’s definition of anti-Semitism, thinks “official adoption of the
State Department’s definition would do more harm than good.” He doesn’t think
the definition should be used as a speech code for university students and
rejected that proposal in an op-ed in the Jewish Journal last year:
“… official adoption of the State Department’s definition would do more harm
than good. I say this sadly, as the lead author of the somewhat more detailed
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia’s (EUMC) “working
definition on anti-Semitism,” upon which the State Department definition is
based, and as a strong advocate of State’s use of the definition in its global
work.
The EUMC definition was crafted as a tool for data collectors in European
countries to identify what to include and exclude from their reports about
anti-Semitism, and to have a common frame of reference so that data might be
compared across borders. …
But to enshrine such a definition on a college campus is an ill-advised idea
that will make matters worse, and not only for Jewish students; it would also
damage the university as a whole.
(JVP), press release: Instead of fighting anti-Semitism, new Senate bill
threatens free speech
Instead of fighting anti-Semitism, new Senate bill threatens free speech
Fast-tracked “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” designed to condemn criticism of
Israel
December 1, 2016 – The United States Senate is due to consider the
“Anti-Semitism Awareness Act,” a bill that, rather than fight anti-Semitism as
it purports to do, will enable a crackdown against activism for Palestinian
human rights on college campuses. Introduced and fast-tracked this week by
Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tim Scott (R-SC), the bill would codify a
controversial State Department definition of anti-Semitism that broadly defines
criticism of the state of Israel as anti-Semitic.
The bill is supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the
Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Simon
Wiesenthal Center. “Given the silence of most of those organizations on the
appointment of Bannon, an actual white supremacist anti-Semite to a position of
power in the White House, and their poor track records of Islamophobia, it is
outrageous that they are pushing through this legislation targeted at student
activism for Palestinian human rights,” said Tallie Ben Daniel, academic
program manager of Jewish Voice for Peace. “Instead of fighting the
anti-Semitism entering the White House, this bill will go after 19-year-old
students carrying protest signs against human rights abuses. This is not how to
fight anti-Semitism, this is a recipe for restricting civil liberties like the
right to criticize a government for its policies.”
The legislation would codify a problematic definition of anti-Semitism that
right-wing Israel advocates have been trying for years to implement on college
campuses in order to police student criticism of Israeli policy. The State
Department’s definition of anti-Semitism includes vague wording regarding
“demonizing” the state of Israel that can and has been interpreted to stifle
legitimate criticism of Israel’s human rights abuses and discriminatory
policies. Civil rights groups, free speech advocates and news outlets including
the Los Angeles Times editorial board have raised free speech concerns about
the implementation of this definition. Kenneth Stern, the lead author of the
European Monitoring Centre’s definition upon which the state department
definition is based, stated that to use this definition on college campuses
would “do more harm than good.”
“We must be vigilant to fight against the intensified racism, Islamophobia and
anti-Semitism that have been unleashed by Trump’s campaign and the threat of
racist, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies promised by his incoming
administration. It is more essential than ever that our lawmakers and Jewish
communal leaders insist that fighting anti-Semitism go hand in hand with
fighting racism and Islamophobia, not reinforce them with misguided legislation
designed to defend Israeli policies, not Jews.” said Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy
director of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Liz Jackson, civil rights attorney with Palestine Legal and cooperating counsel
with the Center for Constitutional Rights: “As Trump calls for jailing flag
burners, every lawmaker must stand up to protect cherished First Amendment
freedoms to criticize the government. That includes the right of college
students to criticize the U.S. and foreign governments like Israel. Regardless
of one’s views on Palestine-Israel, we should all be alarmed at this attempt to
pile on top of Trump’s attacks on free speech rights. It is plainly
unconstitutional for Congress, the Department of Education, a state
legislature, or any public school to punish campus speech critical of Israel.”
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act merits full consideration and a public debate.
