'Any course that contains the ... keywords Israel, Israeli, Palestine, Palestinian, Middle East, Zionism, Zionist, Judaism, Jewish, or Jews will be flagged for review.'
Douglas SouleUSA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
In an push that has created First Amendment questions, Florida's state university system is sending requests to schools across the state to flag any course that might contain what it calls "antisemitic or anti-Israeli bias."
"We are going to conduct a keyword search on course descriptions and course syllabi," State University System ChancellorRay Rodrigues wrote in an early August email. "Any course that contains the following keywords: Israel, Israeli, Palestine, Palestinian, Middle East, Zionism, Zionist, Judaism, Jewish, or Jews will be flagged for review.
"This process will ensure that all universities are reviewing the same courses, and nothing falls through the cracks," Rodrigues continued.
The email comes as universities are being told to say if they can create "faculty committees" to review those resources, according to the email. That review "will need to be completed" by the fall semester. "This review should flag all instances of either antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias identified and report that information to my office," Rodrigues said.
Some onus will be put on professors themselves. Rodrigues said there's a "need to implement a process" for each professor to attest they've reviewed their course materials for such content.
The email was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel, which noted alarm among some faculty members that it will lead to self-censorship. And the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is also expressing concerns about the directive.
"When we see a letter from the chancellor of a statewide system asking for a review of course materials based on vague and undefined standards that raise real red flags," said Tyler Coward, FIRE lead counsel, in an interview.
"Singling out certain key words and phrases for targeted review will certainly chill speech on these important issues, and, if institutions take action against professors for including certain materials, that violates long-standing academic freedom guarantees."
Some things in letter still unclear
The letter doesn't say what would happen to the courses found to have antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias, or what would happen to any professors involved.
In his email, Rodrigues says he's addressing "confusion that has arisen" from a previous discussion, but there's limited details on that discussion. It also doesn't precisely define what's considered "antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias."
Responding to emailed questions, Cassandra Edwards, a spokesperson for the university system, sent only a copy of the Rodrigues' letter, which the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida already had included in its initial request for information.
But Rodrigues told the Miami Herald that the directive was prompted by a controversial incident at Florida International University. Students of an online course were offered a multiple choice question that said, according to Coral Springs Talk, "When Israelis practice terrorism, they often refer to it as..."
Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure that created a definition for "antisemitism" with language developed by theInternational Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Proponents said it was designed to empower governments to address a rise in hate and discrimination against Jewish people.
One of the examples of antisemitism provided in the law: "Applying double standards by requiring of the Jewish state of Israel a standard of behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation."
While some worried the bipartisan legislation might limit First Amendment rights, a provision was added that said it can't "be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." Another outlined that "antisemitism" doesn't "include criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism of any other country."
"What does that even mean?" Coward said. "How is a person going to evaluate how much they can criticize Israel if they're not criticizing another country similarly? It makes no sense. As applied, it's impossible to do."
Nor does Coward believe those additions protect the laws constitutionality. He said, "This First Amendment clause in the bill does nothing to change the fact that this bill, if applied in a campus context, will be used to censor speech or chill speech of faculty and students. ... It will do nothing to address antisemitism on campus."
And, if that was the case, Coward said he didn't think it would survive a legal challenge.
Joe Cohn, director of policy for campus viewpoint diversity advocacy group Heterodox Academy, emphasized that "addressing antisemitism on college campuses is an important goal."
But, he added, "It has to be accomplished in a manner that respects the principals of academic freedom. ... So, in this particular context, what we're concerned about is the chilling effect it will have on the ability of students and faculty to freely explore all of the contours of the conflict in the Middle East."
Florida stands out in directive
Coward also said this was the first time he heard of a state issuing such a directive.
Since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the resultant conflict that has leveled wide swaths of Gaza, DeSantis and his higher education appointees have taken strict action against any pro-Palestinian protesters accused of breaking any law or university rule.
"We do not allow the inmates to run the asylum in the state of Florida," DeSantis said at the time. "If you can't abide by the rules that we have in place for conduct, then we will show you the door and you will be expelled."
DeSantis waived application fees for out-of-state Jewish college students "who have a well-founded fear of antisemitic persecution at their current postsecondary institution," and urged universities to offer them in-state tuition.
"While leaders of 'elite' universities enable antisemitism, we will protect Jewish students and welcome them to Florida," he said.
In late October, in a move thattroubled free speech advocates, DeSantis and Rodrigues told universities two Florida Students for Justice in Palestine chapters "must be deactivated," accusing them of providing material support to Hamas.
Rodrigues later walked back that claim, but DeSantis continued to call for their deactivation. The two groups sued, but those lawsuits were unsuccessful, with a federal judge finding a lack of standing, or right to sue, since no actual action was taken against them.
Obama-appointed Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker nevertheless criticized the state's actions: “It’s not lost on me that it very much matters to you when someone runs off at the mouth and puts your lives in danger," he told the groups in a hearing.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached atDSoule@gannett.com.
