The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter to the US Senate on Thursday, warning the legislative body that the passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act may infringe on the right to free speech.
In its letter, the ACLU said the definition of antisemitism in the proposed Antisemitism Awareness Act is overly broad and could thus lead to violations of free speech rights under the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The organization further argued that the Civil Rights Act already provides adequate protection from antisemitic discrimination.
The organization expressed particular concern about how the proposed law would affect free speech on college campuses. Debate about the Israel-Palestine conflict continues to produce fiery speech from student groups across the country, and the letter warned of the effect the bill could have on university administrations. The ACLU pointed out that the drafter of the definition, Kenneth Stern, rebuked its use to stifle free speech on college campuses. The organization further explained:
First, [the Act] could result in colleges and universities suppressing a wide variety of speech critical of Israel or in support of Palestinian rights in an effort to avoid investigations by the Department and the potential loss of funding, even where such speech is protected and does not qualify as harassment … Second, even where administrators do not take formal action, students and their organizations, faculty, and university staff may be deterred from speaking and organizing on these issues.
The ACLU wrote that its concerns do not reflect its views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Rather, the organization stated, it “staunchly defend[s] the right of those in the United States to speak out on domestic and international political matters.” The organization called the ability to criticize the government key to democracy, citing the US Supreme Court’s ruling that political speech is “at the core of what the First Amendment is designed to protect.”
The Antisemitism Awareness Act would mandate federal use of the working definition of “antisemitism” created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in cases brought under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits programs that receive federal funding from discriminating against individuals based on race, color, or national origin. While the statute’s language does not cover discrimination against religion alone, it protects against “discrimination against Jews … when [it] is based on race, color, or national origin, which can include discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”
Certain speech falls under the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism, including speech that dehumanizes Jews, spreads Jewish conspiracy myths, denies the Holocaust, accuses Jews of being more loyal to Israel than their country of origin, claims the existence of Israel is a racist project, compares current Israeli policy to Nazi policy, or holds Jews collectively responsible for the acts of the state of Israel.
The US House of Representatives passed the bill in May amid numerous protests on university campuses over the Israel-Hamas conflict. 120 protestors, for instance, were arrested at a pro-Palestinian encampment at New York University. Police also arrested multiple students at the University of California, Los Angeles, removing a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school’s campus.
