ACLU Urges Senate to Oppose Bill That Will Threaten Political Speech on College Campuses

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

“Instead of addressing antisemitism on campus, this misguided legislation would punish protected political speech,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel 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 that criticizes the Israeli government. The right to criticize government actions is the most fundamental protection provided by the First Amendment – and this includes the actions of foreign governments. The Senate must continue to block this bill and protect free speech.”

The bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives in May despite bipartisan opposition, directs the Department of Education to consider an overbroad definition of antisemitism that encompasses protected political speech when investigating allegations of discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The ACLU has warned this could pressure colleges and universities to restrict student and faculty speech critical of the Israeli government and its military operations out of fear of the college losing federal funding.

Courts have already found that applying the IHRA definition of antisemitism 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 directing all Texas higher education institutions to update and enforce campus free speech policies to address antisemitic speech and apply the IHRA definition of antisemitism likely violates the First Amendment. The judge found that “the incorporation of [the IHRA definition of antisemitism] is viewpoint discrimination” because it makes the utterance of specific content punishable. Further, as the ACLU’s letter to Congress makes clear, federal law already prohibits antisemitic discrimination and harassment by federally funded entities, and the Antisemitism Awareness Act is not needed to protect Jewish students from discrimination.