NEW YORK —The State of South Carolina has become the first to adopt a legislation against anti-Semitic acts.
The State Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation.The bill passed the State House of Representatives in March; South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has expressed support for the bill and is expected to sign it into law.
“Anti-Semitism, and the forces that have led to its resurgence, are not representative of the values of South Carolina,” said State Representative Alan Clemmons, who authored the legislation.
The bill will help break down the barriers in the fight against anti-Semitism by providing educators and administrators with a clear and uniform definition to recognize anti-Jewish bigotry, according to the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law.
“There has been an alarming increase in anti-Semitism nationwide, and particularly on our nation’s college campuses,” the Brandeis Center’s Director of Legal Initiatives Aviva Vogelstein explained. “This bill gives South Carolina the tools to protect Jewish students’ and all South Carolina students’ right to a learning environment free of unlawful discrimination.”
The annual FBI hate crime report shows that anti-Semitic hate crimes outnumber all other religious based hate crimes combined.
The problem appears to be more acute in academia.
A 2014 study showed that 54% of college students witnessed anti-Semitism on campus. A study the following year indicated that the number of Jewish students on campus experiencing anti-Semitism had increased 75%.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that in 2017 anti-Semitic incidents had increased by 89% on college campuses in the United States.