Representative Randy Fine (R-FL) has introduced legislation reforming education on antisemitism in American schools.
Specifically, the No Antisemitism in Education Act requires schools to adopt the Working Definition of Antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and to treat antisemitism the same way it views other forms of racism.
"Today, we are witnessing an explosion of antisemitism unlike anything in our lifetimes," said Rep. Fine in a statement. "Nowhere is it more visible, or more dangerous, than on our college campuses. Higher education institutions have a responsibility to protect every student. And right now, too many are failing Jewish students. That needs to be stopped. No student in America should have to choose between getting an education and being safe because of who they are. Not one."
Rep. Fine further suggested that other forms of racism, such as anti-Black, anti-Latino, and anti-Asian targeting, are more readily denounced and handled by universities, yet "when the victim is Jewish, we suddenly get committees, task forces, statements, and more often absolutely nothing."
"If you target a student because they are Jewish, it will be treated the same way as if you targeted them because they are Black, Hispanic, or Asian," the Florida Congressman concluded.
Antisemitism has been on the rise since the notorious October 7th, 2023, attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel, with students in the United States, most notably Columbia University in New York, staging demonstrations in solidarity with Hamas after Israel retaliated.
In May, Fine introduced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1965 to include the prohibition of antisemitism in federally funded programs, with defunding a potential punishment for failure.
"In 2025, Jewish students should not be afraid to walk across a college campus, and I'm going to make sure that they're not," said the Florida Congressman.
