UC President Wants to Adopt State Department Anti-Semitism Definition
Though it may likely be called a violation of the first amendment.
FIRE reports.
State Department’s Anti-Semitism Definition Would Likely Violate First Amendment on Public Campuses
In a radio interview yesterday, University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano stated that she believes the UC system should adopt the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism. Responding to recent calls from rabbis, faculty, and alumni for the UC system to adopt the definition, Napolitano told Jeremy Hobson of Here & Now that the Board of Regents will vote on the proposal in July. However, if adopted and used as the basis for discipline by a public university system, the State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism would likely violate the First Amendment by prohibiting protected expression.
The definition, authored by the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, reads:
Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
State Department’s Anti-Semitism Definition Would Likely Violate First Amendment on Public Campuses (FIRE)