Florida professors complain about threats to 'academic freedom' over course reviews of anti-Semitism
Some Florida public university professors have expressed reservations about being asked to review course materials for anti-Semitism.
In August, State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues tasked the system's university presidents with examining courses for 'antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias.'
Some Florida public university professors have expressed reservations about being asked to review course materials for anti-Semitism.
In August, State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues tasked the system’s university presidents with examining courses for “antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias” in response to complaints about campus anti-Semitism.
At the time, Rodrigues’ message asked the various presidents if faculty committees could “review relevant course resources such as textbooks and test banks for either antisemitic material and/or anti-Israeli bias before the beginning of fall semester.” He also called for each school to have a “faculty review” to “flag all instances of either antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias identified, and report that information to my office.”
In June, an X account called Documenting Israel shared screenshots of anti-Semitic questions on what the account says was a test sent by a Florida International University (FIU) student. One question asked students to fill in the blank in response to: “When Israelis practice terrorism, they often refer to it as,” with answer choices including “proactive attacks,” “self-defense,” “military actions,” and “terrorist defensive strategy.”
I was just sent these by someone who is writing a test at @FIU (Florida International University) and see the anti-Semitic questions being asked! pic.twitter.com/hAMBxorv77
— Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) June 26, 2024
On Monday, PantherNow reported that some professors at FIU have taken issue with volunteering for such an initiative, claiming that it can infringe on “academic freedom.”
Politics and International Relations Professor Ronlad Cox has equated the practice to “policing,” while saying it violates the FIU Collective Bargaining Agreement, the outlet reports.
“If this committee review follows through, it will severely undermine professors and their integrity. It would open a door to more censorship at the state level, which in the State of Florida, has appeared to be very biased,” Cox reportedly said.
English Associate Professor Martha Schoolman co-authored a September op-ed for The Sun Sentinel in which she wrote that the “Florida university system’s antisemitism scare is counterproductive and ill-informed.”
”If the politicians pressuring the SUS Board of Governors (BOG) get their way, courses related to Judaism and Middle East studies will be subjected to unprecedented ideological censorship,” the piece stated.
As noted by PantherNow, a 2021 Florida statue states that “criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism toward any other country may not be regarded as anti-Semitic.”
University of South Florida History Professor David Johnson has also warned about the possible consequences of reviewing course materials.
In September, he told The Oracle that the review is “clearly an infringement on academic freedom, [and] really a witch hunt.”
Johnson also told the outlet that “academic freedom” means “that the state can’t tell the faculty what they can and cannot teach.” Additionally, he said that the anti-Semitism review process “shows disrespect for the faculty and disrespect for the students.”
“And it shows disrespect for faculty members who were chosen because of their expertise and trusted to choose materials and basically saying they can’t be trusted,” Johnson reportedly added.