US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday targeting anti-Semitism on college campuses, the White House said.
The order, which could draw criticism from free speech advocates, will broaden the federal government's definition of anti-Semitism and instruct it to be used in enforcing laws against discrimination on college campuses, according to three US officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly preview the move.
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Trump has closely aligned himself with Israel, including moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel's sovereignty on the Golan Heights.
In the order, Trump is expected to tell the Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism – which can include criticism of Israel – when evaluating discrimination complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Title VI bars discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin at colleges and universities that receive federal funding. One official said Trump's order would make it clear that Title VI will apply to anti-Semitism as defined by the IHRA. That definition says anti-Semitism may include "targeting of the state of Israel."
The order "just explains if an incident is anti-Semitic it could fall into a Title VI violation," a second official said.
"Just because someone is Jewish doesn't mean they should be punished and not receive the same protections for discrimination under Title VI," the official said.
Still, the official insisted the order was not intended to limit freedom of expression and was not aimed at suppressing the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement known as BDS. The movement is on the rise, sparking tension on many college campuses.
The Israeli government has urged allies to rein in the BDS movement, while its backers deny anti-Semitism charges and describe themselves as critical of Israeli decision-making, not Jews.
A third official said the order was a response to an alarming rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents on campuses and would mean that Jewish students who are discriminated against for their religion have the same kind of recourse as black students who are victimized by racism.
The Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism found white supremacist propaganda on campuses up 7% from the last academic year, which ended this May.
Previous attempts to clarify and codify the application of Title VI to anti-Semitic acts have become bogged down in debates over whether Judaism should be seen as a race or is indicative of a national origin. Free speech advocates have also expressed concerns that a broader definition of anti-Semitism might be used to limit criticism of Israeli government actions.
The Republican Jewish Coalition applauded the move, with the group's chairman, former Sen. Norm Coleman, calling it "a truly historic and important moment for Jewish Americans" and hailing Trump as "the most pro-Jewish president" in the nation's history.
The Trump administration has previously acted to constrain campus anti-Semitism, last year reopening a case of alleged discrimination against Jewish students at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
The ADL and the Academic Engagement Network released model guidelines for faculty in November after two instructors at the University of Michigan declined to write letters of recommendation for students seeking to study abroad in Israel.
Trump delivered a speech on Saturday night that featured remarks from a recent New York University graduate who had accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students from harassment.
