WASHINGTON – American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter Senate, strongly urging them to continue to block S. 4127, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which threatens to censor political speech critical of Israel on college campuses under the guise of addressing anti-Semitism.

“Instead of addressing anti-Semitism on campus, this misguided legislation would punish protected political speech,” it said Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Advisor at the ACLU. “At a time when civil rights enforcement on campus could not be more critical, this bill risks politicizing these vital protections by censoring legitimate political speech critical of the Israeli government. The right to criticize government action is the most fundamental protection afforded by the First Amendment—and that includes the actions of foreign governments. The Senate must continue to block this bill and protect free speech.”

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives in May despite bipartisan opposition, directs the Department of Education to consider an overly broad definition of anti-Semitism that includes protected political speech when investigating allegations of discrimination under Title VI from the Civil Rights Act. The ACLU has ADVISED this could put pressure on colleges and universities to restrict student and faculty speech critical of the Israeli government and its military operations for fear of the college losing federal funding.

Courts have already found that applying the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism to harassment policies likely violates the First Amendment. In October 2024, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas found in Students for Justice in Palestine v. Abbott that an executive order requiring all Texas institutions of higher education to update and enforce campus free speech policies to address anti-Semitic speech and apply the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism likely violates the First Amendment. The judge found that “the incorporation of (the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism) is viewpoint discrimination” because it makes the expression of specific content punishable. Moreover, as the ACLU’s letter to Congress points out, federal law already prohibits anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment by federally funded entities, and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act is not necessary to protect Jewish students from discrimination.