Anti-Semitism Awareness Bill Passes Senate

[Little Tich]

2. Expert on Hate Opposes Campus Anti-Semitism Bill Based on Definition He Created

Source: The Forward

A controversial anti-Semitism bill sailing through Congress has a new critic: The expert who wrote the definition on which the bill is based.

Kenneth Stern, formerly the American Jewish Committee’s specialist on anti-Semitism and extremism, says that the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2016, which aims to combat campus anti-Semitism, is “both unconstitutional and unwise.”

Stern was the lead drafter of the definition of anti-Semitism used in the bill. He says he did not intend the definition to be used in the manner in which Congress is proposing to use it.

The bill, which has the support of such mainstream Jewish groups as the Anti-Defamation League, would instruct the DOE to consider a definition of anti-Semitism that includes “demonizing Israel” or “judg[ing] Israel by a double standard” when investigating discrimination claims.

Read more: http://forward.com/news/356220/expert-on-hate-opposes-campus-anti-semitism-bill-based-on-definition-he-cre/