{"id":2215365,"date":"2024-04-08T07:25:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T11:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-can-step-in-as-campus-antisemitism-reaches-defcon-1-experts\/"},"modified":"2024-04-08T07:30:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T11:30:52","slug":"government-can-step-in-as-campus-antisemitism-reaches-defcon-1-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-can-step-in-as-campus-antisemitism-reaches-defcon-1-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Government can step in as campus antisemitism reaches \u2018DEFCON 1\u2019:\u00a0Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgovernment-can-step-in-as-campus-antisemitism-reaches-defcon-1-experts%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2215365&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>UDOF EXPRESSES \u2062THE FINE \u2062LINE \u2062BETWEEN PROTECTED AND UNPROTECTED SPEECH, WHILE GLUHANICH IDENTIFIES SPEECH \u2062TYPES EXCLUDED FROM FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION. ROBBINS HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPACT OF SPEECH INTENDING TO HURT OR HARASS JEWS UNDER TITLE VI LIABILITY. \u200dINCIDENTS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS \u2062RAISE CONCERNS, WITH YUDOF UNDERSCORING THE\u2062 IMPORTANCE OF COMBATING DISCRIMINATION. GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT MAY BE CRUCIAL IN \u200dENFORCING ACCOUNTABILITY.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Jewish <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/students\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>students<\/a> face an unprecedented uptick in campus <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/antisemitism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>antisemitism<\/a>, and experts argue that <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/higher-education\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>university<\/a> response has been inadequate to the point that government action is not only permissible, but necessary.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> interviewed three leading First Amendment lawyers and scholars after a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2931556\/jewish-students-feel-unsafe-campus\/\" title>poll<\/a> revealed that Jewish students by and large feel unsafe on campus, coinciding with a 400% <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/diaspora\/antisemitism\/article-770085\" title>rise<\/a> in antisemitic incidents, according to the Anti-Defamation League. They identified the line between protected speech and unprotected conduct, and how offenders and universities can be held accountable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, we\u2019re at a DEFCON 1 when it comes to antisemitism,\u201d First Amendment lawyer and civil litigator Jeffrey Robbins told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2>Conduct in question: Anti-Israel Demonstrations<\/h2>\n<p>From boycott, divest, and sanctions campaigns, to \u201cceasefire now\u201d protests, the hostile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adl.org\/resources\/report\/anti-israel-activism-us-campuses-2022-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>conduct<\/a> of campus demonstrators has included <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/12\/04\/metro\/pro-palestinian-students-block-building-entrance-at-the-new-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>blocking<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sfmcguire79\/status\/1772746929178657153\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>occupying<\/a> school buildings, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campusreform.org\/article\/harvard-students-yell-genocidal-and-anti-semitic-slogan-at-anti-israel-protest-\/24863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>chanting<\/a> slogans with genocidal implications, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/politics\/college-students-detail-jewish-community-intimidated-speaking-campuses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>intimidating<\/a> Jewish faculty and students.<\/p>\n<p>In January, for example, approximately 86 University of Pennsylvania faculty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2829175\/upenn-faculty-blocks-main-building-pro-palestinian-die-in-protest-violation-school-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>participated<\/a> in an anti-Israel \u201cdie-in\u201d protest that blocked a main school building. Eyewitness and UPenn Jewish student leader Eyal Yakoby told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that he felt the demonstration was meant to intentionally harass and intimidate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very clear that this speech and conduct has long been intended to intimidate Jewish students in a way to drive them underground, to degrade them, to reduce their credibility in the eyes of others, to make them feel isolated, to drain them of any willingness to support Israel, or even frankly, to express their Judaism,\u201d Robbins said. \u201cThat\u2019s the very intention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Program Officer for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Haley Gluhanich told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that campus protests are protected even when the views expressed are \u201ccontroversial, offensive, or hateful, and even when other students simply feel intimidated, scared, or unsafe. This would remain the case if, for example, protesters were engaged in antisemitic speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said, \u201cThis means that schools cannot prohibit these protests or shut them down \u2014 they must allow them to happen and cannot take any disciplinary action against the students engaged in the protest,\u201d except in situations where conduct crosses into unprotected speech.<\/p>\n<p>On whether a protest that blocks school buildings is protected under the First Amendment, Robbins argued, \u201cI believe that\u2019s now not speech, but that\u2019s conduct which is intended to physically interfere with someone\u2019s movements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe key to me in all this is reasonable time, place, and manner limitations on speech,\u201d Former University of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/California\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>California<\/a> president and constitutional law scholar Mark Yudof stressed to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, noting that many universities lack adequate restrictions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA \u2018die in\u2019 that attempts to block access to buildings is not just speech; it may involve speech, but it is preventing people from freely entering and leaving a university building to which they take their classes\u2026 interfering with the educational process,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>He said that such restrictions \u201cneed some teeth in it,\u201d and that \u201cit is not sufficient to say these are our rules, you violated them, and then do nothing. You should be able to discipline students\u2026 there may be warnings, there may be suspensions from school.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Conduct in question: Anti-Jewish speech<\/h2>\n<p>In both higher education and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2898157\/california-k-12-antisemitism-prompts-pro-bono-legal-helpline-kill-the-jews\/\" title>K-12<\/a>, there have been numerous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/swastikas-daubed-anti-semitic-slurs-yelled-on-connecticut-campus-over-passover\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reports<\/a> of antisemitic slurs and slogans being used by groups and individuals, directed at Jewish people on campus and at large, including but not limited to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejc.com\/news\/world\/jewish-students-sue-nyu-claiming-university-allows-students-to-chant-gas-the-jews-omkrmkxw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">phrases<\/a> such as \u201cHitler was right,\u201d \u201cKKK,\u201d \u201cgas the Jews,\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/mondoweiss.net\/2023\/11\/on-the-history-meaning-and-power-of-from-the-river-to-the-sea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">translated<\/a> phrases, \u201cfrom the river to the sea,\u201d and \u201cPalestine will be Arab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first time you say \u2018[from] the river to the sea,\u2019 and someone says, \u2018Well, that means there\u2019s no state of Israel, that there could be a massive slaughter of Israeli citizens,\u2019 you can say that\u2019s not our interpretation.\u201d Gluhanich said. \u201cBut if you know that\u2019s the way it\u2019s going to be received, that, to me, is problematic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>There have additionally been calls to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campusreform.org\/article\/dont-take-shtty-zionist-classes-student-group-warns\/18979\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>boycott<\/a> \u201czionist classes\u201d and classes on Israel or taught by Israeli fellows, as well as rampant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campusreform.org\/article\/campus-reform-reporters-professor-targeted-death-threats-online-harassment\/15301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>online<\/a> harassment within campus communities. Robbins identified online harassment within such communities as a top contributor to Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment,\u201d Yudof said. \u201cMany of the leading cases involve the Ku Klux Klan as a paradigm for racist hate speech. And on a number of occasions, the Supreme Court has protected that speech\u2026 Having said that, it is also true that the mere fact that speech is involved in an enterprise does not mean that the speech is necessarily protected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gluhanich shared some types of speech that would not be protected by the First Amendment, including incitement, true threats, fighting words, and harassment. \u201cMere advocacy of lawbreaking or violence remains protected speech as long as it is not intended to and likely to provoke immediate unlawful action,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She said the unprotected conduct of true threats does not include \u201crhetorical hyperbole or the endorsement of violence,\u201d while fighting words \u201conly encompasses face-to-face communications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robbins explained that the matter comes down to two main principles; one being that speech is protected, and the other being that the speech and conduct \u201cis in fact intended to hurt Jews and to drive a wedge between them and their identity.\u201d He noted that there is a point when otherwise protected speech creates a hostile environment and can subject people or schools to liability under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/crt\/fcs\/TitleVI#:~:text=Title%20VI%2C%2042%20U.S.C.,activities%20receiving%20federal%20financial%20assistance.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Title VI\">Title VI<\/a> of the Civil Rights Act.<\/p>\n<p>In explaining the line between protected speech and unprotected speech that intentionally inflicts emotional distress, he pointed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/common_law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>common law<\/a> and gave an example where in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marksalomone.com\/amounts-of-damages-in-massachusetts#:~:text=The%20charge%20of%20%22infliction%20of,severe%20mental%20anguish%20in%20another.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Massachusetts<\/a>, \u201cThe standard was [that] in order [for something] to rise to the level of intentional infliction of emotional distress such that somebody is civilly liable for it tends to be when conduct is so outrageous and extreme that no civilized society would tolerate it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cIt\u2019s pretty clear that a mere insult would not rise to that level,\u201d however \u201ca persistent course of humiliation and degradation and intimidation and harassment\u2026 can rise to the level of intentional infliction of emotional distress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yudof described a \u201ctension\u201d between the First and 14th Amendments, guaranteeing both freedom of expression and equal protection, and explained that Title VI lawsuits are filed \u201cagainst the university for creating a hostile environment\u2026 but the suit is not against individuals and does not per se seek to curtail their speech,\u201d and compared it to when an employer is subject to a lawsuit for allowing a hostile work environment, but the offending employees are not necessarily liable.<\/p>\n<h2>Conduct in question: Physical violence<\/h2>\n<p>Jewish students on campus have also dealt with physical conduct from anti-Israel or broadly antisemitic offenders. Jewish <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campusreform.org\/article\/students-admit-to-vandalizing-campus-menorah-just-days-before-hanukkah\/20821\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>symbols<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/education\/university-of-pennsylvania-hillel-vandalism-palestine-writes-20230921.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>buildings<\/a>, and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcjc.com\/current-news\/top-stories\/9253-flags-at-ku-jewish-fraternity-vandalized-for-second-time-in-two-months\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>property<\/a> are repeatedly vandalized, and there are reports of Jewish students being <a href=\"https:\/\/jewishinsider.com\/2024\/02\/jewish-student-at-columbia-attacked-while-leaving-a-pro-israel-demonstration\/#:~:text=A%20Jewish%20freshman%20at%20Columbia,%2C%E2%80%9D%20Jewish%20Insider%20has%20learned.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>assaulted<\/a>, as well as a school building holding a pro-Israel event being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/jewish-students-uc-berkeley-fight-campus-antisemitism-not-hiding-anymore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>stormed<\/a> by protesters shouting antisemitic slurs, forcing Jewish students to hide in a secret location.<\/p>\n<p>At Ohio State University alone in the month following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, two Jewish students were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.columbusjewishnews.com\/news\/local_news\/dewine-orders-troopers-to-osu-campus-after-two-antisemitic-incidents\/article_287db0a6-8006-11ee-89d2-4321513ccfef.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>struck<\/a> in the face just off campus in what was classified as a hate crime, a Hillel building was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CzcfZFDx7Yu\/?img_index=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>vandalized<\/a> as the vandals shouted what the CEO of OSU\u2019s largest Jewish group described as \u201canti-Israel statements and threats\u201d from the lobby, and another Jewish student was reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/CzWlvwEOI9z\/?img_index=3(opens%20in%20a%20new%20tab)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>spit on<\/a>, which is also categorized as a hate crime.<\/p>\n<p>While physical violence is not protected under the First Amendment, the violent conduct seen in campus communities may result from the hostile environment being fostered by universities that do not hold faculty and students sufficiently accountable. This, Yudof said, could open up Title VI liability.<\/p>\n<p>Yudof invoked the doctrine of true threats, noting that most threats involve speech and many people<strong> <\/strong>on the campus have \u201cthreatened to do things which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-arrested-in-florida-for-attacking-matt-gaetz-police\/\" title=\"Florida police arrest Democrat for assaulting Matt Gaetz.\">involve physical harm<\/a>, humiliation, assault and battery, and all sorts of things. They are simply not protected. The fact that speech is involved is not in the discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need people to be observant, and we need processes for complaints,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there needs to be some price that\u2019s paid if you have rules and you just ignore them, and you don\u2019t take any action against the offending faculty or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/students\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>students<\/a> or whomever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robbins said the response to disruptions of university or college events \u201cshould be a no-brainer,\u201d and argued that \u201cif a university or college is serious about dealing with this stuff, then those people should be expelled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yudof mentioned events that have been moved online because the schools did not feel the campus would be a safe environment for Jewish students, and said it seems \u201cthey ought to be thinking about ways to make the campuses safe, rather than keeping students and faculty members off the campus.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Conduct in question: Discriminatory student bylaws<\/h2>\n<p>There have also been examples of student bylaws and decisions that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/2019\/05\/09\/williams-college-student-government-rejects-pro-israel-group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>discriminate<\/a> against Jews and Israelis, most recently at the University of California, Berkeley Law School where zionist speakers were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/quicktakes\/2022\/10\/13\/berkeley-law-faculty-condemn-refusing-zionist-speakers#:~:text=A%20group%20of%20professors%20at,school%2C%E2%80%9D%20the%20statement%20reads.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>banned<\/a> from campus by student groups.<\/p>\n<p>Yudof said what he found most objectionable about the Berkeley Law School policies is that \u201cby mere fact [of] being a zionist,\u201d even when that is irrelevant to the subject at hand, \u201cyou\u2019re excluded.\u201d He called this \u201cvery problematic,\u201d and said, \u201cWhether it turns out to be legal, we\u2019ll find out in the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robbins said, \u201cYou can make the argument that if universities are authorizing or permitting their names to be used or sponsoring organizations with bylaws, which exclude people of a certain ethnic or religious identification, then universities are complicit in discrimination, and that itself is a violation of Title VI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On whether discrimination against zionist speakers constitutes discrimination against Jewish speakers, as not every Jewish person holds zionist beliefs, Yudof said, \u201cevery survey shows the overwhelming majority of Jewish people are, I would say, pro-Israel. It doesn\u2019t mean they agree with all Israeli policies, it doesn\u2019t mean they support the present government, but they identify with the Jewish homeland, which has been the Jewish homeland for thousands of years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A 2021 Pew Research <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2021\/05\/11\/u-s-jews-connections-with-and-attitudes-toward-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> found that eight in ten American Jews say caring about Israel is an important part of what being Jewish means to them, and a Dec. 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/jewishinsider.com\/2023\/12\/poll-overwhelming-majority-of-american-jews-support-israels-fight-against-hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> showed that 81% of American Jews support Israel in its fight against Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that not every member of a community has to be insulted for conduct to be discriminatory towards the community at large, so, in his mind, policies that discriminate against zionists are therefore discriminatory against Jews.<\/p>\n<h2>A \u201cnefarious\u201d connection<\/h2>\n<p>When antisemitic incidents go unpunished, Robbins said, \u201cThis implies something nefarious; that universities and colleges lack the guts or the will when it comes to Jewish students to enforce the rules that you just know they would not have to be pressured into enforcing if it were other groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are universities and colleges that are receiving a ton of money from sources that have a take on this conflict,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cAny university or college that refrains from taking action when it comes to antisemitism because they have in the back of their mind the thought that they might lose donations is acting in an affair in a corrupt and nefarious way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A 2023 ISGAP report <a href=\"https:\/\/isgap.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-corruption-of-the-american-mind.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>revealed<\/a> that \u201cAt least 100 American colleges and universities illegally withheld information on approximately $13 billion in undocumented contributions from foreign governments, many of which are authoritarian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On campuses receiving such contributions, students reported greater exposure to \u201cantisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric,\u201d as well as \u201chigher levels of antisemitic incidents.\u201d The report states that the relationship between those contributions and campus antisemitism \u201cwas stronger when the undocumented donors were Middle Eastern regimes rather than other regimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Public schools vs private schools: A critical distinction<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cPublic colleges and universities are bound by the Constitution, so they are required to protect students\u2019 and faculty members\u2019 protected speech,\u201d Gluhanich said. \u201cPrivate colleges and universities on the other hand are not bound by the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cHowever, many private institutions make institutional promises or commitments to free expression which morally, and sometimes contractually, binds them into protecting free speech \u2014 and the First Amendment is where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/students\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>students<\/a> and faculty generally will look to as guidance as to what is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yudof said that this difference gives private universities \u201cmuch more leeway\u201d in dealing with antisemitic conduct and argued that UPenn and Columbia University would have an easier time dealing with such problems than the University of California or the University of Texas, for example.<\/p>\n<p>Robbins explained that this enables private schools and employers to have codes of conduct, and can require students and faculty who wish to be enrolled or employed at the school to abide by said code, \u201cagreeing that if they do not, they may be subject to discipline up to and including expulsion or termination.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Recently, three students at Vanderbilt University, a private school, were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsmv.com\/2024\/04\/05\/suspensions-expulsions-issued-after-vanderbilt-student-protest-turned-violent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expelled<\/a>,\u00a0and more than a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/vanderbilt-protest-students-arrested-gaza-c945a8452b1b14d5bfef219ecf7da89b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dozen<\/a> were suspended after forcefully occupying an administrative building in a March 26 anti-Israel protest. Four students were arrested and charged with a crime; three with assault against an officer and staff member upon entering the building, and one with vandalism. The hammer came down on the offending students swiftly following the incident, and while there will be an appeal, the school\u2019s private status makes it easier to follow through with such punishment.<\/p>\n<p>He said it\u2019s not as easy for public schools \u201cbecause they\u2019re a state actor,\u201d but they\u2019re still in a \u201cposition to have requirements that students do not engage in racist behavior, or demeaning behavior, or attacks on people\u2019s ethnic or racial or religious heritage,\u201d he said. \u201cIt certainly is past time to have those things in place if they\u2019re not already in place\u2026 and to start enforcing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Can the government get involved, constitutionally?<\/h2>\n<p>Robbins and Yudof highlighted different ways the government can play a role in holding universities accountable for fostering a hostile environment leading to unprotected conduct.<\/p>\n<p>Robbins explained that when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-university-hit-with-federal-complaint-over-rampant-and-pervasive-anti-semitism\/\" title=\"American university faces federal complaint for widespread anti-Semitism\">universities receiving federal funding<\/a> are violating Title VI and other provisions of the civil rights laws, then it is \u201cthe responsibility of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2941697\/house-committee-launches-antisemitism-investigation-into-rutgers-university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Congress<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/floridas-desantis-bans-pro-palestinian-student-group-2023-10-25\/\" title>governors<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2023\/06\/02\/the-u-s-national-strategy-to-counter-antisemitism-key-actions-by-pillar-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>presidents<\/a> to take steps, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/us-education-department-opens-new-antisemitism-probes-into-universities-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Departments of Education<\/a> to hold those schools to account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One example of this is when former president Donald Trump signed a 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/presidential-actions\/executive-order-combating-anti-semitism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>executive order<\/a>, which sought to \u201cenforce Title VI against prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robbins said the government can take a number of avenues to hold schools accountable for incidents that rise to the level of civil rights violations, \u201cincluding by saying we\u2019re not going to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meghan-mccain-blasts-bidens-stance-on-abortion-im-personally-opposed-to-murder-but-if-you-want-to-murder-a-little-bit-its-fine\/\" title=\"Meghan McCain Blasts Biden\u2019s Stance On Abortion: \u2018I\u2019m Personally Opposed To Murder, But If You Want To Murder A Little Bit, It\u2019s Fine\u2019\">provide federal funding<\/a>; we\u2019re not going to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/calif-democrat-reps-aim-to-make-abortion-a-right\/\" title=\"Calif. Democrat reps. aim to make abortion a right\">provide state funding<\/a>. Not only is it permissible, it\u2019s the responsibility of governmental agencies to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe loathsome indulgence and promotion of hate on the part of those on campuses who hold themselves out as progressive is a dire problem,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd every tool in the toolbox needs to be used to address this. And if tools have to be added to the toolbox, tools should be added to the toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat authority already exists under Title VI,\u201d Yudof said. \u201cThat is why, to my knowledge, every Title VI case which has been brought\u2026 eventually has been settled, because the hammer there is potentially a cutoff for federal funding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, he explained how cutting off federal funding would be devastating to important research and that the Department of Education \u201ccan have a more nuanced remedy,\u201d giving an example where NYU had to <a href=\"https:\/\/jewishinsider.com\/2020\/09\/nyu-settles-with-education-department-will-revise-discrimination-policy-following-antisemitic-activity-on-campus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>revise<\/a> its discrimination policy just 10 months after Trump\u2019s executive order in a 2020 settlement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe emotional damage, the damage which is inflicted on Jewish kids as a result of conduct which universities and colleges have looked the other way at for years, is searing. It is dreadful,\u201d Robbins said.<\/p>\n<p>When universities who have been warned but have not addressed the issue are sued and have to \u201ccough up damages,\u201d he argued, \u201cYou may see them acting in a totally different way. And that is the kind of lawsuit which it seems to me needs to be explored. Quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jewish students face an unprecedented uptick in campus antisemitism, and experts argue that university response has been inadequate to the point that government action is not only permissible, but necessary. The Washington Examiner interviewed three leading First Amendment lawyers and scholars after a recent poll revealed that Jewish students by and large feel unsafe on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2670,"featured_media":2215366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24074414321257-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2215365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24074414321257-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2670"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2215365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2215366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2215365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2215365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2215365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}