As the nation grapples with an alarming rise in anti-Semitic incidents amid the Israel-Hamas war, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday a plan aimed at combating anti-Semitism on the state’s college campuses. He issued a presidential order.
Abbott’s order requires Texas universities to review their free speech policies, define anti-Semitism in clear terms, and outline “appropriate punishment” for anti-Semitic speech on campus. It is mandatory to clearly stipulate this. The executive order requires college and university administrators to implement these policies to ensure “a safe learning environment for Jewish students and all Texans,” according to a press release from the governor’s office. There is.
“Antisemitism has no place in Texas, and we will do everything in our power to combat it,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas stands with Israel and the Jewish community, and we must redouble our efforts to protect against anti-Semitism at Texas colleges and universities, and across the state. The danger is increasing, as it has been for the Jewish community since the deadly Hamas attack on October 7.”
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order Wednesday to combat the sharp rise in anti-Semitism on campuses. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mr. Abbott credited the administration with taking “immediate action to protect Jewish schools, synagogues, and other important sites.”
“Many universities in Texas also acted quickly to condemn anti-Semitism,” he added. “However, some extremist organizations on our campus engage in conduct that has no place in the state of Texas. Now we need to ensure that our college campuses are safe spaces for members of the Jewish community. We must strive to ensure that.”
The text of the executive order referred to the “unspeakably heinous” crimes committed by Hamas against Israel during the October 7 terrorist attack that killed more than 1,000 civilians.
“Anti-Semitic incidents have increased since the Hamas attacks, and the prevalence of anti-Semitism in public universities is particularly worrying,” Professor Abbott wrote.
Abbott detailed the plight of Jewish students on campus since the outbreak of war, and how protected free speech areas such as parking lots and the Jewish Student Union building were covered in anti-Semitic graffiti. I explained how it was destroyed. He also referred to student groups that went on strike and chanted “anti-Semitic phrases such as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.'”
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Jewish student groups cheered Abbott’s executive order late Wednesday. “He’s seen a lot of people,” Rabbi Stephanie Max, executive director of Texas Hillel, told FOX News Digital. [antisemitic] Incidents in the campus community, including recent vandalism of buildings. ”
“We appreciate the governor’s efforts to ensure that Jewish students can fully express their Jewish identity without fear of harassment, intimidation, or violence,” she said. “We are confident that the university has and will continue to take seriously the importance of community and belonging, and will continue to address conduct that is inconsistent with those values.”
Jewish organizations have called on university leaders to address the growing problem of anti-Semitism on campuses and protect Jewish students amid an alarming rise in anti-Semitic incidents. (Getty Images)
The executive order comes less than a month after Jewish students from across the country testified at a Congressional hearing about the epidemic of anti-Semitism they currently face, with one student calling it ” “Open season for Jews.”
The students explained that Vicious anti-Semitic incident It’s happening at Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of California at Berkeley, and several other universities.
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“Dirty. Dirty Jewish monster. Colonist. Infant killer. These are the names given to us at Stanford University. Labels that strip us of our humanity, dignity, and identity. These are the names that were given to us at Stanford University one night. “These are the names that several people threw in my face when they surrounded me in November,” Kevin Feigelis of Stanford University told lawmakers.
The Rutgers University student added, “It’s time to wake up America and understand what’s going on on college campuses.”
Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg said he was concerned about the matter. resurgence of antisemitism “Fifty percent of students say they have experienced some form of discrimination because they are Jewish,” he told a crowd at the university earlier this week.
“Every day we see how extremist institutions are being used on college campuses,” Spielberg said.
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“Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it,” he added. “I am increasingly worried that we will be accused of repeating history and having to fight again for the very right to be Jewish.”
FOX News’ Anders Hagström contributed to this report.
