New York colleges could have their funding frozen if they do not begin training faculty and students to report antisemitism under new legislation proposed by state Republicans as campuses have become a hotbed of anti-Israel activity.
Colleges would have to develop practices for reporting antisemitic incidents and make sure all educators and students are trained on those procedures.
If they don’t, their state funding would be frozen.
Nassau County Republican Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) introduced the legislation in the wake of a surge of antisemitism at New York’s college campuses in recent weeks.
“New Yorkers deserve a state free of antisemitism, and our students deserve a college experience free of threats,” Ra said.
The legislation acts on calls by some politicians to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars the state gives to educational institutions if they don’t properly respond to the ongoing wave of antisemitism across higher education institutions.
“The rise of antisemitic incidents across New York demands the Legislature take action,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said.
A Cornell University student, Patrick Dai, is in federal custody facing five years in prison after threatening to “rape” Jewish students, “slit their throats” and shoot up a kosher dining hall on campus.
Russell Rickford, a history professor at the Ivy League school, is on leave after calling Hamas’ attacks “exhilarating” and “energizing.“
“It’s been frustrating to see such blatant antisemitism unravel across our state, especially in places that are supposed to be dedicated to education, learning, and free thinking,” Ra said.
The legislation comes as the former head of New York’s highest court is being brought in by Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday to investigate antisemitism and discrimination at the City University of New York.
In a speech announcing the move Tuesday, Hochul acknowledged the problem of antisemitism has “been growing on a number of campuses” well before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.