Â鶹´«Ã½IOS

Congressional leadership is aiming to add the Antisemitism Awareness Act to this year’s defense bill. Â鶹´«Ã½IOS has consistently warned about the threat to free speech posed by the act. Below is a statement from Â鶹´«Ã½IOS Legal Director Will Creeley:

You can’t protect Americans by chipping away at their ability to speak out — and that’s exactly what this act does.

Requiring colleges and universities to police students and faculty using a vague definition of anti-Semitism will leave them unclear about whether core political speech — fully protected by the First Amendment — will result in punishment. That’s not how free speech works. 

Colleges have the legal and moral obligation to make sure their campuses are free from discriminatory harassment, including anti-Semitism. But they don’t need this act to ensure their students and faculty are safe — the only thing this act will ensure is that student and faculty speech is chilled.

Â鶹´«Ã½IOS is 100% dialed in to stop any threat to Americans’ free speech rights. If this bill is passed, we aim to challenge it in court.