Christopher Vargas
Thursday June 6, 2024 | 2 am
The Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education will consider revising its handbook to address discrimination on campuses in the wake of protests by pro-Palestinian protesters demanding an end to the war in Gaza.
Regents today and Friday will consider a proposal that would revise their handbook to “address discrimination” based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or citizenship or residence in a country with a dominant religion. The article, which notes that discrimination also includes anti-Semitism, was requested by regents Byron Brooks, Stephanie Goodman and Joseph Arrascada.
The regents will also “allow consultation” of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of “anti-Semitism” and may discuss recent events, regulatory guidance and other related matters, according to the board agenda.
“I have continually asked for special meetings, emergency meetings, committees, subcommittees on safety and security and now, specifically, to keep our Jewish students safe,” Regent Patrick Boylan said during the May 23 board meeting, where many Jewish and pro-Israeli community members expressed concern about alleged anti-Semitism on university campuses. “I implore you… please let’s get ahead of the game and not follow it.”
Boylan criticized his fellow regents for not standing up for Jewish students and accused them of failing to take action to punish a student speaker at UNLV’s graduation ceremony last month who mentioned the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza because he “didn’t “It is not the black community nor any other minority community that he spoke of.” about.”
This is not the first time that the regents have analyzed the issue.
In late 2022, the regents amended the same chapter of their handbook to add a section requiring anti-bias and discrimination training to be included in diversity training at Nevada institutions of higher education. He also ordered that the regents themselves participate in the training.
The section contained a reference to the definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for training purposes, according to briefing documents for the next agenda item.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights last month issued a “Dear Colleague” letter emphasizing schools’ “federal civil rights obligations… to ensure nondiscrimination based on race, color, or origin national, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
These protections extend to students and other members of the school community who are or are perceived to be of any other faith or ancestry, including Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, or Palestinian.
An increase in complaints filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights alleging such discrimination in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as colleges and universities, prompted the May letter, he said.
A 2019 executive order signed by former President Donald Trump “reaffirms” that anti-Semitism is prohibited under the anti-discrimination protections of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and “directs the federal government to enforce Title VI against prohibited forms of discrimination based on anti-Semitism as vigorous over all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI,” the Office for Civil Rights said in 2021.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and associated examples of antisemitism were included in the executive order for consideration by federal agencies as possibly “‘useful as evidence of discriminatory intent,'” according to the information report of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” where “rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their properties, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Within this definition, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance describes different examples of what it considers anti-Semitism, including “calling for, assisting or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion” and deny the Holocaust.
Targeting Israel, which is considered a “Jewish community,” can be considered anti-Semitic unless the criticism is “similar to that directed against any other country,” he said.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance added that “anti-Semitism frequently accuses Jews of conspiring to harm humanity… in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and character traits.” negative”.
A 2023 report by the Movement to Combat Anti-Semitism and the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jews at Tel Aviv University revealed that 345 universities internationally had adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition at that time. moment: one in 2023 and four in 2022.
The action comes after university campuses across the country have seen a rise in protests, many of which address the war between Israel and Hamas, which began with the October 7, 2023 attacks on civilians in the south. of Israel that left 1,200 Israelis dead and destroyed the country’s economy. feeling of security.
Some groups say the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition is “vague” and “conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.”
In April, more than 100 “civil society organizations” asked the United Nations to reject the group’s definition, saying it “represents real harm to Jewish communities around the world” and can “freeze and sometimes suppress nonviolent protests, activism and discourse critical of Israel and/or Zionism.”
“Its vagueness will infringe on academic freedoms and freedom of expression,” the Quinto Sol Project, a grassroots-led mutual aid group, said in a social media post last week. “If you are in higher education, use your voice, get involved, and stay informed about your rights as a student, faculty, and alumni.”
The regents cannot discuss the proposal until the meeting under open meeting laws, and an NSHE official said they would not release a statement before the meeting.
(email protected) / 702-948-7854 / @gracedarocha
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.