New York, NY, March 27 ... ADL (Anti-Defamation League) hailed the introduction of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019, introduced on Tuesday by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Bob Casey (D-PA).
This bill would require the Department of Education when reviewing whether there has been a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to consider the definition of "anti-Semitism" as part of its assessment of whether a practice was motivated by anti-Semitic intent.
ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt issued the following statement:
Today, the federal government does not have all of the tools it needs to investigate anti-Semitic incidents on campus, as it does for most other forms of discrimination. At a time of rising anti-Semitic incidents, we welcome the Senate’s introduction of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which provides important guidance for federal anti-discrimination investigations involving anti-Semitism.
This will help the federal government determine whether an anti-Semitic or anti-Israel incident crosses the line from protected free expression into harassing, unlawful or discriminatory conduct, because investigations would be informed by the current, widely accepted definition of anti-Semitism. We applaud Senators Scott's and Casey's leadership in sponsoring this important legislation, which will help protect Jewish students from discrimination on campus, while not infringing on the free speech of all students.