South Carolina Moves To Protect Students from Anti-Semitism

The South Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill, now headed for the SC Senate with support from the governor, designed to protect students from anti-semitic acts. “H. 3643 seeks to provide South Carolina’s public post-secondary institutions with a uniform definition of anti-Semitism in determining whether harassment, intimidation, assaults, vandalism or other discriminatory behavior is motivated by anti-Semitic intent and should be investigated and addressed appropriately,” the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law claims. “It will help address growing anti-Semitism on campus and protect students’ rights to a learning environment free of unlawful discrimination.”

“Importantly, H. 3643 is careful to protect First Amendment rights of all students on campus, and will not curb or restrict free speech or academic freedom. The definition of anti-Semitism in H. 3643 is a global standard, used by the U.S. Department of State to assess anti-Semitic incidents that occur abroad. It is a substantially similar definition to that of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), supported by the 31 IHRA member states, and all 50 countries that make up the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) other than Russia.”

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