FSU Student Senate Adopts IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism

The Florida State University (FSU) Student Senate voted on July 15 to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

Florida Politics reported that the resolution, Resolution 59, passed with 26 votes in favor and 14 against. In addition to adopting the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, the resolution states that the student senate will appoint a liaison for FSU’s Hillel and call for creating a task force advising the FSU administration on issues related to the Jewish community.

“We affirm that as Senators we will continue to advocate and do better for the 4,000+ Jewish students on the Florida State University’s campus,” the resolution stated. “We as student leaders must be held to the highest standard, and in a representative position of power, we must be actively educating ourselves on the identities, perspectives, and struggles of those that we represent.”

StandWithUs CEO and co-founder Roz Rothstein praised the student senate for passing the resolution.

“As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, I appreciate this basic step taken to address anti-Semitism inside and outside the FSU Student Senate,” Rothstein said in a statement. “There was a campaign to distort this resolution and further silence the Jewish community, which only proves how much more work needs to be done on this campus. We are so proud of FSU Jewish students who pushed through every obstacle to persuade the Student Senate to finally start doing the right thing.”

Noles for Israel, an FSU student group, similarly praised the student senate in a statement.

“The sponsors of Resolution 59 not only heard us but allowed us to define for ourselves what support for the Jewish community really looks like,” the statement read.

https://www.facebook.com/NolesForIsrael/posts/4194972003909522

FSU’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, on the other hand, tweeted that the resolution amounted to “censorship of pro-Palestine speech on campus.”

Resolution 59 passes. The FSU senate affirms the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and the censorship of pro-Palestine speech on campus.

— FSU SJP (@FSU4Palestine) July 16, 2020

The resolution’s passage comes after a vote of no confidence against FSU Student Senate President Ahmad Daraldik failed on June 18; Daraldik had been under fire for his past social media posts stating “f— Israel” and “stupid Jew” as well as an apparent website of his comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.

According to Florida Politics, Daraldik attempted to prevent two members of the Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus from speaking during the July 15 student senate meeting on Zoom, arguing that he didn’t want “legislators to sway senators to feel a different way or vote a specific way.” FSU Student Government Association President Jonathan Levin intervened and overruled Daraldik’s efforts.