Florida senators introduce latest bill to reduce anti-Semitism in higher ed
Florida’s two U.S. senators recently introduced legislation intended to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses.
On Sept. 24 Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott introduced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act.
Florida’s two U.S. senators recently introduced legislation intended to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses.
On Sept. 24, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott introduced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act. One of the bill’s main provisions would be to include religious protections under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
“Colleges and universities claim to value diversity and inclusion but have failed to address dangerous antisemitic incidents that have been plaguing campuses for the past year,” Rubio said in a press release. “My Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act is a critical step toward ensuring that our educational institutions carry out their responsibility to protect Jewish students from hate and discrimination.”
“Jewish students deserve to be safe, and any college or university in this nation that’s enabling antisemitism on campus and leaving students terrified for their safety must be held accountable,” Scott remarked in a statement. “Colleges and universities must reject all forms of hate and prejudice and hold those accountable who are complicit in the rise in antisemitism we are seeing on campuses across the country.”
The bill comes amid continuing unrest on American campuses as the state of Israel battles with the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses such as Columbia University’s have resumed with the fall semester, raising concerns of more anti-Semitic activity.
In a Sept. 23 opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal, Rubio stated his purposes for authoring the act.
“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,” he said.
Rubio also went on to explain the bill’s prescribed penalties for schools that fail to adequately enforce Title VI.
“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,” he wrote. “That would ensure that all students receive an education free of discrimination and harassment.”
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If passed, the proposed bill would not be the first on the books this year that aims to combat anti-Semitism in higher education.
The Antisemitism Awareness Act passed the House of Representatives on May 1 by a vote of 320-91, proposing to update the Department of Education’s definition of “antisemitism.” The Senate has yet to vote on it in the months since, though it has garnered bipartisan cosponsors.
Campus Reform has contacted Sens. Rubio and Scott for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.