TEXAS – On Tuesday, some Jewish Texans backed a bill to combat an increase in antisemitism in schools, while others claimed it would not only restrict free speech but also compromise their safety.
They provided testimony to the Senate’s K-16 Education Committee on Senate Bill 326 on Tuesday night.
The measure would mandate that in student disciplinary procedures, public school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, colleges, and institutions apply the working definition and instances of antisemitism provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“A certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” is how the IHRA defines antisemitism. Antisemitism can take the form of physical or verbal attacks on Jewish or non-Jewish people, their belongings, Jewish community organizations, and places of worship.
“Applying double standards by requiring of it (Israel) a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation,” “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” and “holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel” are some examples of antisemitism given by the IHRA.
The IHRA definition promotes “a dangerous conflation of the government of Israel and the Jewish people,” according to Oli Hoffman, a student at the University of Texas at Austin.
Hoffman stated, “I am a proud Longhorn studying education, and I can remember some civil discussions about Israel that I participated in on campus that would be considered antisemitic on September 1st if this bill is approved.”
Last spring, students at UT Austin and other colleges throughout the nation showed solidarity with Palestinians by demanding that their schools cut relations with companies that provide Israel with weaponry for its attacks on Gaza.
State police rushed on the campus after UT administrators alerted them, making over 100 arrests. Some have praised the institution for its appropriate response to what they perceive to be antisemitic rallies, while others have criticized it for what they described as a harsh response. Some claim that this is demonstrated by the slogan that some demonstrators chanted: “from the river to the sea.”
A region of land between the Jordan River on Israel’s eastern side and the occupied West Bank to the Mediterranean Sea to the west is referred to as “from the river to the sea.”
Phil King, R-Weatherford, the author of SB 326, stated that he believes the term advocates for the murder of Jews, despite pro-Palestinian campaigners claiming it is a cry for equality and peace in the Middle East.
It also calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state, said Sandra Parker, King’s invited witness and vice chair of the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.
She emphasized that the law would provide school administrators the authority to judge if a student has broken their code of conduct on their own and would give them a tool to assess whether the infraction was motivated by antisemitism.
According to her, that could assist the school in deciding what kind of discipline is appropriate.
Why is that required? Because what you don’t want to define, you can’t defeat,” Parker explained. “We are aware that the behavior is occurring, but why? There are just two possible answers. People either don’t recognize antisemitism when they see it or tolerate it and ignore it.
Parker went on to say that the law might handle instances such as one at a San Antonio high school where she said a non-Jewish kid had an Israel flag taken and destroyed by another student. Instead of disciplining the kids who destroyed the flag, the school subsequently transferred the flag’s owner to a different classroom.
“The purpose of this behavior was to silence Jewish students and their supporters,” Parker stated.
King and Parker claimed that the phrase “from the river to the sea” was antisemitic, although other Jewish Texans disagreed.
Jennifer Margulies, who attends Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, which was set on fire by a man in 2022, said, “Whatever the intentions of this bill, understand that it actually makes Jews in Texas less safe to formally associate us with a foreign government, evoking the longstanding antisemitic charge of dual loyalty that’s been leveled against Jewish people in the U.S. and Europe for decades, setting us apart from our neighbors and painting us as outsiders.”
“I am aware of the signs of antisemitism,” she remarked. “I hope I’m not lying when I drive past the burnt black sanctuary doors to drop my child off, but it feels like I have to reassure her that it’s safe for her to attend Hebrew school.”
Lawmakers have heard reports of an increase in antisemitic incidents in schools since protests began last spring. Jackie Nirenberg, a regional director for the Anti-defamation League, reiterated it to them on Tuesday.
According to her, 83% of Jewish college students at 135 colleges and universities in the United States who participated in a study conducted by the ADF and Hillel International, a Jewish Campus organization, reported having seen or witnessed antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
SB 326 was not moved from committee consideration.
The same measure has been introduced in the House by Southlake Republican State Representative Giovanni Capriglione.
Open Campus and The Texas Tribune collaborate on coverage of higher education.
