Ep. 214: The Antisemitism Awareness Act

On May 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the
Antisemitism Awareness Act by a vote of 320 to 91. Proponents of
the law say it is necessary to address anti-Semitic
discrimination on college campuses. Opponents argue it threatens
free speech.


 


Who’s right?


 


Kenneth Stern was the lead drafter of the definition of
anti-Semitism used in the act. But he said the definition was
never meant to punish speech. Rather, it was drafted to help data
collectors write reports. 


Stern is the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate.
His most recent book is titled, “The Conflict Over the Conflict:
The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate.”


 


Timestamps


 


0:00 Introduction


04:06 Introducing Ken Stern


7:59 Can hate speech codes work?


11:13 Off-campus hate speech codes


13:33 Drafting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
definition 


21:53 How should administrators judge anti-Semitism without the
IHRA definition? 


27:29 Is there a rise in unlawful discrimination on campuses
today? 


40:20 Opposition to the Antisemitism Awareness Act 


43:10 Defenses of the Antisemitism Awareness Act 


51:34 Enshrinement of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism in
state laws


53:57 Is the IHRA definition internally consistent? 


59:21 How will the Senate vote? 


1:01:16 Outro


 


Show Notes


 


IHRA definition of anti-Semitism


The Antisemitism Awareness Act 


Transcript