Republican lawmakers and conservative lobbyists, working in conjunction with ALEC, have launched a multi-state campaign to ban anti-Israeli rhetoric and activism in public schools and universities.
theguardian.com/us-news/2019/o…
theguardian.com/us-news/2019/o…
The point man in this campaign is Randy Fine, a Florida Republican representative and the man who sponsored HB 741, which banned anti-Israeli speech in Florida's schools last May.
Wait...were you not aware that Florida banned anti-Israeli speech?
tampabay.com/florida-politi…
Wait...were you not aware that Florida banned anti-Israeli speech?
tampabay.com/florida-politi…
Yeah, Florida added religion to the list of protected characteristics in its ed anti-discrimination law. Good! But in doing so, it uses the IHRA definition anti-Semitism (e.g. "Applying a double standard to Israel", "Delegitimizing Israel").
flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2…
flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2…
In FOIA'd emails with ALEC, Rep. Fine is admirably clear about all this. "Students for Justice in Palestine is now treated the same way as the Klu Klux Klan -- as they should be."
documentcloud.org/documents/6455…
documentcloud.org/documents/6455…
Seriously, had you not heard about this? Oh well, campus free speech issues don't get much coverage on here, so it's not that surprising.
But expect to hear a lot more along these lines in the future, especially if 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has anything to say about it.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, this leftwing political correctness is out of control.
Coda: I'm not enjoying this anymore than you are. I would much rather be talking about something -- anything -- else, but relative to the size of this threat (whole state legislatures are involved!), it's shocking how little attention it's getting. Hence my obnoxiousness.
