Let’s commit to creating a safer world for trans people – Washington Blade

There are two things going on in our country that have drawn attention in recent days. One is very troubling the rise of anti-Semitism on the nations college campuses. The other is good the defeat of school board candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty.

It was reported in Bloomberg, A handful of U.S. colleges, including Columbia University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have started to take action against pro-Palestinian protests deemed to be against school rules or hostile to Jewish students.Columbia University on Friday temporarily suspended two student groups supporting the Palestinian cause that it said repeatedly violated university policy after an unauthorized event proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation, the Ivy League school said. The report went on MIT stopped short of suspending students because of potential visa issues, but barred them from non-campus activities while the school investigates a protest conducted in defiance of school rules that was disruptive, loud and sustained through the morning hours. Other reporting spoke of Harvard and Yale, among other top law schools, receiving a letter of warning from some of the nations top law firms, asking them to do something, and take a stand with regard to the rising anti-Semitism on their campuses.

I recognize this has placed many universities in a very difficult position. I want all acts of anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia, to be called out, but the issue is determining what is considered protected free speech, and what is a hate crime. We are reading more and more about parents of students, and large donors to universities, threatening to withhold any donations to the schools that dont take immediate action to fight anti-Semitism, and keep Jewish students safe. I never thought I would see this in our country.

Bloomberg reported, At Ohio State University, two incidents directly targeted the Jewish community in 24 hours. Two students were assaulted and the campus Hillel was vandalized. At Cornell, online threats against Jews resulted in a students arrest.

Reuters confirmed the letter sent to the nations top law schools, regarding the wave of anti-Semitism arising out of the war between Israel and Hamas. In response University of California, Berkeley law dean Erwin Chemerinsky said on Thursday that he welcomes the firms statement condemning anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism, but was unclear on next steps. He went on to say, I am unsure what the law firms are asking law schools to do, but it is certainly our role to protect the freedom of speech of all of our students, while also ensuring that there is a conducive learning environment and preparing students for the practice of law at the highest levels of the profession.

This seems to be the quandary so many universities are facing. It has reached a point that members of Congress reportedly introduced a bill saying the debates in colleges and universities across the country are not a free speech issue. The bill called the Antisemitism Awareness Act introduced in late October, would allow both universities and law enforcement, to clamp down on anti-Semitic speech, which they describe as hate speech. Clearly not an easy issue to deal with. But as a Jew, it is disturbing and frightening, to see college students, apparently displaying their emotions, without real knowledge, becoming more and more anti-Semitic.

Then there is the positive indication for the nations future. It is the actions of Americans at the voting booth in our recent elections. It appears they rejected school board candidates across the nation who were supported by the group Moms for Liberty. This is a group founded in 2021 as a response to regulations in schools related to COVID-19. Since then, they expanded their efforts to represent the right wing that opposes any teaching of race in schools, those who want to curb the rights of LGBTQ+ students, and are advocating wide-ranging book bans. The group has drawn the attention of The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has designated it an extremist group.

The group endorses the type of school board candidates supported by MAGA Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. A year ago, they celebrated victories in school board races across the nation, but this year was different.

The Wall Street Journal reported, In Loudoun County, Va., where battles over Covid-19 masking policies and race-related instruction drew national attention in recent years, school board candidates backed by the local Democratic Party maintained a majority of the nine board seats, all of which were on Tuesdays ballot. These were candidates running against those supported by Moms for Liberty. A small sign of decency in a difficult world.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

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Let's commit to creating a safer world for trans people - Washington Blade