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 that the resolution, , 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鈥檚 Hillel and call for creating a task force advising the FSU administration on issues related to the 91传媒 community.
鈥淲e affirm that as Senators we will continue to advocate and do better for the 4,000+ 91传媒 students on the Florida State University鈥檚 campus,鈥� the resolution stated. 鈥淲e 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.鈥�
StandWithUs CEO and co-founder Roz Rothstein praised the student senate for passing the resolution.
鈥淎s the daughter of Holocaust survivors, I appreciate this basic step taken to address anti-Semitism inside and outside the FSU Student Senate,鈥� Rothstein said in a statement. 鈥淭here was a campaign to distort this resolution and further silence the 91传媒 community, which only proves how much more work needs to be done on this campus. We are so proud of FSU 91传媒 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.
鈥淭he sponsors of Resolution 59 not only heard us but allowed us to define for ourselves what support for the 91传媒 community really looks like,鈥� the statement read.
https://www.facebook.com/NolesForIsrael/posts/4194972003909522
FSU鈥檚 Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, on the other hand, tweeted that the resolution amounted to 鈥渃ensorship of pro-Palestine speech on campus.鈥�
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)
The resolution鈥檚 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 鈥渇— Israel鈥� and 鈥渟tupid Jew鈥� 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 91传媒 Legislative Caucus from speaking during the July 15 student senate meeting on Zoom, arguing that he didn鈥檛 want 鈥渓egislators to sway senators to feel a different way or vote a specific way.鈥� FSU Student Government Association President Jonathan Levin intervened and overruled Daraldik鈥檚 efforts.
