US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
ICYMI: Rubio, Clement Present Plan to Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses
Sep 23, 2024 | Press Releases
Congress Can Protect Jews on College Campuses
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Paul Clement
September 23, 2024
Wall Street Journal
The ancient poison of antisemitism has infected American higher education…. Campus antisemitism isn’t restricted to…widely publicized incidents…. A survey by Alums for Campus Fairness finds “44% of Jewish students report never or rarely feeling safe identifying as a Jew at their school.”
College administrators and local authorities have the power and responsibility to protect Jewish students, but they have often failed…. Universities and law enforcement need better leaders, but the U.S. also needs a legal structure prohibiting antisemitic harassment on college campuses with clarity and teeth.
Doesn’t this structure already exist? Yes and no. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally-funded institutions of education. But it doesn’t specifically prohibit discrimination against Jews, and [it] doesn’t cover religious discrimination….
The Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campuses Act…would extend Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to cover religious discrimination (with an exception for religious institutions)…. The bill affirmatively respects and preserves free speech rights. It targets [harassment that] the U.S. Supreme Court has already held the First Amendment doesn’t protect….
The bill would also address a status quo in which the Education Department gives schools a slap on the wrist when they fail to protect Jewish students. Academic programs would receive a clear warning for the first offense, escalating to a 10% reduction of federal assistance after the second and a 33% reduction after the third….
Read the rest here.