The U.S. Department of Education has announced, ?as part of a guidance on bullying, that Jewish students who are harassed at schools enjoy the protections of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,? according to an exultant press release from the American Jewish Committee. Russlynn Ali, who leads the department's Office of Civil Rights, said:
Anti-Semitic harassment can trigger responsibilities under Title VI. While Title VI does not cover discrimination based solely on religion, groups that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common faith.
The announcement relates to a 2004 Title VI complaint filed on behalf of Jewish students who attended the University of California, Irvine, and who were allegedly harassed at school about their religion, er, ?shared ancestry? and ?ethnic characteristics.? One wonders: If the students in question were intimidated or molested in any real way, why did they file a Title VI complaint with the Education Department?why, that is,?didn't they just contact the police? And, really: What difference does it make why the students were harassed? If someone leaves ranting, threatening messages in my voicemail, the last thing I care about is identifying the caller's muse.
But ED's Civil Rights Office continues its march to muck up everything. Where does Ali draw the line here, and what counts as ?harassment?? Can a Palestinian rights organization on campus criticize Israel? How far can it go in its criticism? Can it condemn Jewish thought (which can differ from Israeli thought) about construction of settlements in occupied territory? Heck, can it host a panel discussion on the Torah's deficiencies? It should be able to do any of and all those things, but now, who knows. What clear thinkers do know, however, is that Ali, who purports to protect young Americans from bullies and bigots, is actually attacking free speech and free thought. Her approach and her tactics are profoundly anti-intellectual, insulting, and worrisome.
?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow