Duval Times

Today, Senator Rick Scott reintroduced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act. The legislation, which he initially led with former Senator Marco Rubio, aims to address the increase in antisemitic incidents and rhetoric that followed the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas. This act seeks to hold colleges and universities accountable for failing to address antisemitic harassment and discrimination, which violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Institutions that do not comply risk losing federal funding.

The proposed legislation builds on efforts by former President Trump to withhold federal funding from higher education institutions that do not stop antisemitic actions. Recently, President Trump decided to cut $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University for this reason.

Senator Rick Scott stated, "Following Iran-backed Hamas’s attack on Israel, we saw a drastic rise in antisemitic attacks in the United States with anti-Israel mobs taking over campuses, and we’ve seen an unacceptable failure from leadership at higher education institutions to take action to condemn these mobs and protect Jewish students. Jewish students were afraid to go to class, fearful of the violence these pro-terrorist mobs threatened. That can’t happen. President Trump is completely right to withhold federal funding from higher education institutions that refuse to enforce the law on their campuses and enable antisemitic hate to flourish, and I’m proud to lead this bill to build on his efforts."

The Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act proposes several measures:

- Expanding Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include religious discrimination as a prohibited practice while allowing exceptions for programs tied to religious organizations.

- Implementing clear penalties for repeat violators among institutions of higher education.

- Ensuring Title VI is enforced against antisemitic discrimination with equal rigor as other forms of discrimination.

- Mandating institutions inform students, faculty, and staff if they violate Title VI.

- Directing the U.S. Department of Education to oversee private lawsuits against colleges receiving federal financial aid related to antisemitism.