Texas Gov. Greg Abbott calls for universities to curb antisemitism, revise free speech

Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order calling for Texas universities to review and update their free speech policies to better protect against antisemitism, including strengthening punishments up to expulsion for those who violate them.

The executive order released Wednesday specifically singled out the national organization Students for Justice in Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the name of the organization's University of Texas chapter — which have vocally opposed Israel and have organized peaceful protests in support of Palestinians — as groups to enforce the policies against. Abbott's order did not mention any protections for Palestinian students against Islamophobia.

Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents on college campuses nationwide have risen sharply since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7 after Hamas, the militant Palestinian government and military group that controlled Gaza, launched a surprise attack against the Jewish state. During the University of Texas’ annual free speech week in October, both Jewish and Muslim students said they felt unsafe discussing the Mideast conflict. Jewish students told the American-Statesman they were sometimes fearful to show their Jewish identity. One student said they had walked by antisemitic graffiti near campus multiple times.

"Thinking about the quality of life for Jews around the nation and in Texas, many of us feel like it's deteriorating," said Rabbi Zev Johnson, executive director of the Chabad Jewish Student Center at UT.

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Johnson said he is grateful for Abbott's and the UT administration's efforts to support the Jewish community.

"I'm a Texan myself and free speech is incredibly important, I think overall Texas has done a good job," he said. "We feel the support on campus, very much so. It seems like they're looking to do the right thing, and we feel blessed to be here."

Abbott ordered the state's public universities to define antisemitism in their free speech policies as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and Texas does: “a certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.”

“The term includes rhetorical and physical acts of antisemitism directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals or their property or toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities,” the definition states.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance states that targeting the state of Israel might count as antisemitic language, but “criticism of Israel similar to that level against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

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The order comes at a time when public universities are cracking down on pro-Palestinian speech — Texas Tech University suspended a professor in early March for anti-Israel tweets that the school claimed were antisemitic, and UT reassigned two teaching assistants after they sent a pro-Palestinian message to their class in November. UT President Jay Hartzell denied the teaching assistants' grievances this month, writing that the students' speech was not protected by academic freedom.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee at UT issued a joint statement with other Texas SJP chapters against what they called a "discriminatory and anti-Palestinian" order, stating the governor "purposefully seeks to silence our voices" and misconstrue pro-Palestinian activism.

"We, the undersigned Palestine solidarity organizations on campus, recognize the mischaracterization of our political organizing as nothing less than arbitrary censorship of our just movement," the statement said. "We condemn the racist campaign being launched in violation of our state and federal constitutions and reaffirm our commitment to the fight for the liberation of Palestine on our campuses and communities."

More than 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to media reports. The joint statement said this order will not stop students from advocating for the violence to stop in the Middle East.

Caro Achar, engagement coordinator at the ACLU of Texas, told the Statesman in an email Thursday that Abbott's order risks censoring criticism of the Israeli government and sets a “dangerous precedent."“Gov. Abbott’s Executive Order GA44 is a political attempt to suppress protected speech on university campuses,” Achar said. “Universities must already protect all students, faculty, and staff from harassment and hostile environments directed at any racial, ethnic, or religious group. Public universities’ free speech codes must follow the First Amendment and allow the expression of political views without fear of retaliation.”

Brandon Weinberg, a UT senior and a leader in multiple Jewish organizations on campus, however, said the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism "stops criticism of Israel from becoming harassment towards Jewish students or hateful."

"Free speech and anti-Israel sentiment is completely OK; it's something that I would never condemn. However, it's very quickly turned into antisemitism," he said.

Weinberg said he has seen swastikas being displayed in graffiti and at protests. He said chants like "from the river to the sea" call for the removal of Jews from the land and increases fear for Jewish students.

Weinberg said he hopes Abbott's order can serve as a model for other states on how to both protect free speech and Jewish students.

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The UT System in November 2022 adopted free speech guidelines based off the Chicago Statement on Free Speech. A spokesperson for the system said it will follow the governor's order.

"The University of Texas System is opposed to discrimination, bigotry and hatred in all forms — including antisemitism — and we will fully comply with the governor’s executive order," the spokesperson said.

UT declined to comment on Abbott's order. Hartzell in an email to the UT campus community in October said he has zero tolerance for hate-filled actions against Jewish and Muslim students, writing, "Speech is protected on our campus, violence is not."

Texas Hillel Foundation, a center for UT’s Jewish community on campus, has been vandalized multiple times since the Israel-Hamas war began, most recently during spring break with “Free Palestine” and “Israel Comits (sic) Genocide.”

On Oct. 12, three men who claimed to be former Israeli Defense Forces soldiers threatened students at a teach-in at UT hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee. A Palestinian American man from Dallas was stabbed in West Campus in February after a pro-Palestine protest. UT did not issue a statement at the time about either incident.

Abbott has publicly stated his support for Israel and for Jewish Texans, visiting Israel in November to show his solidarity with the Jewish state.

Board of regents’ chairs at Texas public universities have up to 90 days to affirm to the Budget and Policy Division of the governor's office that their policies were changed and are being enforced.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Abbott calls for universities to curb antisemitism, revise free speech