Letters: Anti-Semitism Awareness Act needed to fight alarming trend

From Aviva Vogelstein, Director of Legal Initiatives, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

Rahul Saksena’s distortion of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (AAA) in a Feb. 12 op-ed titled “Palestinians deserve justice too”, is highly concerning.  The AAA is a bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to tackle the growing anti-Semitism plaguing Jewish college students. 

According to the latest FBI tracking, the majority of anti-religious hate crimes were motivated by anti-Semitism. And research continues to show that it is Jewish students who are experiencing the brunt of this wave. Frighteningly, anti-Semitism is spiking at an alarming rate on college campuses. In the midst of this surge, though, the Department of Education has been stymied by anti-Semitism cases, especially when they involve the most prevalent modern forms of campus anti-Semitism, those in which anti-Jewish hatred is shrouded in anti-Zionism. 

{mosads}The AAA is a simple yet critical solution to this problem. It calls on the Department of Education to take into consideration the single most authoritative definition of anti-Semitism in the U.S., the one used worldwide by the State Department, when determining the intent of unprotected activities such as, assault, battery and vandalism. The world’s most preeminent scholars of anti-Semitism endorse the State Department’s definition, global leaders agree with it and student governments at several institutions, such as U.C. Berkeley, UCLA, U.C. Santa Barbara, Indiana University, Ryerson University and Capital University, have adopted it.  In fact, the United Kingdom’s recently adopted definition of anti-Semitism is substantially the same as the U.S. State Department’s and is supported by more than 50 countries. 

Contrary to Mr. Saksena’s incorrect claims, the AAA would not limit speech at all. In fact, much anti-Semitic hate speech is constitutionally protected, just like racist and sexist speech. The bill would not change that. Simply put, under the AAA, the Department of Education may consider an assailant’s words, using the State Department’s definition, to ascertain the intent of unprotected actions. 

Considering the bill’s critical mission and careful balance to address Jew-hatred while steering clear of constitutionally protected speech, it is no surprise it passed the Senate unanimously in the 114th Congress. The 115th Congress should take action on this bill right away to curb this resurgence in anti-Semitism before it escalates further.

Washington, D.C.

Are ‘journalists’ still necessary? 

From Charles M. Prignano

Should we even dare discuss the possibility that we, as a society, no longer need “journalists” as much as we once did? Journalists were our eyes and ears; they went places we could not; and they reported truthfully, honestly, objectively and without bias.

How many of you remember how Edward R. Murrow reported from London during World War II? Today, everyone, even if they have to go to a library, has access to social media. Today, we go around the world instantaneously, 24-hours a day, and we see what’s happening on our TV, the internet or even our phone. Today, everyone has a camera and a microphone, or a phone with a camera, and can “report” to the world via the internet. We are all, or have the ability to be, “journalists.”

Today, we do not need to listen to political pundits, with their own highly partisan agendas, to tell us what we see, what we hear, what’s going on, and what we know. Do we still need “journalists”?

Colorado Springs, Colo.