The fight against antisemitism in American universities is going beyond Congress hearings. Nor is it being limited to calls for the resignation of administrators. Instead, students are now exploiting Article VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the Article, “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
So, students who are on the receiving end of antisemitism and islamophobia are starting to wield this legal weapon. Students file hundreds of lawsuits, almost all citing the Article VI law.
This has become necessary since the Hamas-Israeli war started on October 7. Since then, many Jewish students have experienced various shades of discrimination on their respective campuses. Unfortunately, many university administrators are shying away from explicitly telling off antisemitic protesters.
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It has become a game of walking on eggshells as university presidents are avoiding the violation of protesters’ right to the First Amendment. This was precisely what happened during the December 5 hearing of three Ivy League presidents before Congress.
The presidents were questioned about the possibility of “calling for Jews genocide,” constituting a violation of their institution’s code of conduct. Each of the three presidents gave diplomatic responses. So far, President Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania has resigned for her responses at that hearing.
Now, the US Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights is wading into the crisis. Naturally, the implication is the Education Department will investigate all litigations and petitions that border on violations of Article VI. After that, any institution found guilty will have to endure the withdrawal of federal funding. By extension, any program, activity, or institution found violating the rights of students (Article VI) will have their federal funding withheld.
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A student at the University of Pennsylvania, Eyal Yakoby, was bold enough to jettison preparation for his finals. Instead, he attended a press conference at the Senate on December 5. Yakoby is an Israeli American student who feels it is his duty to speak up for all the victims of antisemitism at UPenn and other institutions.
On the weekend of Thanksgiving, reports claim that three Palestinian students were shot in Vermont during a night walk. This shows how bad the hatred and marginalization of Jewish students has become.
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However, executives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are sending words of caution to the Education Department. According to them, in a bid to regulate protests and little nuances of hate speech, they may end up stifling the right to free speech.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell is the national deputy executive director of CAIR. In a recent statement, he said he is all for the Education Department enforcing Article VI. However, Mitchell hopes the enforcement will not be “weaponized in a thinly veiled attempt to silence political speech in support of Palestinian human rights.”
In all, the fear of losing federal and even private funding may force many institutions to be more cautious about censoring hate speech on campuses.
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