BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump shows an executive order regarding anti-semitism during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House December 11, 2019, in Washington, DC.
- On Tuesday The New York Times, reported that in a bid to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses Trump was planning to reclassify Judaism as a nationality.
- The move would apparently close a loophole within Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which governs discrimination against people on the basis of race or nationality, but not religion.
- Having examined the order, which was released Wednesday, several experts have noted that the order does not lead to the reclassification of Judaism.
- Instead it expands on Obama-era rules, under which anti-Jewish prejudice can be punished on the basis of intent.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump provoked a firestorm of criticism after The New York Times reported that in an executive order designed to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses the president was planning to redefine Judaism as a nationality.
Under the First Amendment criticism of religion is shielded, and the order was apparently designed to close a loophole which was exploited by those spreading anti-Jewish hate speech under the guise of criticizing religion.
But critics said that the order could in fact have the opposite effect of that intended, validating white nationalist drives for Jews to be reclassified as non-American - and possibly leading to Jewish deportations and exacerbating anti-Semitic hatred.
Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMembers of the Jewish community and their allies protest anti-Semitism and the upcoming National Students for Justice in Palestine conference at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, California on November 6, 2018.
But when the order was published late Wednesday after the president signed it into law at a White House event, some experts said that the actual document was very different to that portrayed in the Times report - and makes no mention of reclassifying Judaism.
Yair Rosenberg, an expert on anti-Semitism and writer for The Tablet, wrote in a blog that the order expands an Obama-era initiative for protecting Jews under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which guides federally funded education programs.
Title VI makes no mention of discrimination based on religion, so does not offer protection for those such as Jews or Muslims discriminated against for their faith.
So, Rosenberg writes "basically, the idea was that although these groups might not define themselves as a "nation" or "race," because racists define them that way and attack them as such, they are protected. A loophole of sorts to get around a loophole."
The new order seeks to combat anti-Semitism on campuses by embracing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which states in its simplest form: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews."
Where the order expands on the Obama-era guidelines is in its inclusion of IHRA rules specifying that some criticisms of Israel - such as those comparing Israel to Nazi Germany - can be construed as anti-Semitic, writes Slate legal writer Mark Joseph Stern.
"It restates the federal government's long-standing interpretation of Title VI to encompass some anti-Jewish bias. And it raises the faint possibility that, in some case down the road, a student's sharp criticism of Israel may be used as evidence of anti-Semitic intent after he has been accused of targeting Jews because of their perceived race or nationality," writes Stern.
Jonathan Greenblatt, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League, also backed the order in a tweet. He said that he had seen the order before it became public, ruling out the possibility that the Trump administration altered it in face of criticism.
The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the criticism of its report.
Next Story
Global stocks rally even as Sensex, Nifty fall sharply on Friday
In second consecutive week of decline, forex kitty drops $2.28 bn to $640.33 bn
SBI Life Q4 profit rises 4% to ₹811 crore
IMD predicts severe heatwave conditions over East, South Peninsular India for next five days
COVID lockdown-related school disruptions will continue to worsen students’ exam results into the 2030s: study
