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Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and the flag of Israel. (Photos\/Diaz; Cottonbro Studio, Pexels)<\/p><\/div>\n
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2013 Florida this week ordered its college system member institutions to search through coursework for instances of antisemitism.<\/p>\n
The investigation of coursework, the state said, will require two major steps.<\/p>\n
In a memo from Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., member colleges are first instructed to report any identified courses that use certain terms in syllabi or descriptions, such as Israel, Palestine, Middle East, Zionism, Judaism, Jewish or Jews, by Aug. 23.<\/p>\n
Then, the state will take inventory of these courses, and send out a list of courses the colleges must sift through for instances of antisemitism \u201cor anti-Israel bias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colleges will have until the end of the fall 2024 semester to complete their review. To accomplish this, schools can use existing \u201ccurriculum committees\u201d or create new committees as needed.<\/p>\n
Diaz stressed that the methodology used by the state will ensure \u201cconsistency\u201d in the courses reviewed across the Florida College System.<\/p>\n
Finally, as the reviews conclude, each college will be able to report instances of antisemitism or \u201canti-Israel bias\u201d found in any instructional materials in such courses.<\/p>\n
The move comes after Florida for nearly the past year has ramped up its crackdown on antisemitism in its institutions in the wake of Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on Jews in Israel, which has morphed into an ongoing war.<\/p>\n
The state has also been host to some anti-Israel and pro-Hamas demonstrations on college campuses.<\/p>\n
In one instance earlier this year, the University of Florida quickly shut down<\/a>those demonstrations.<\/p>\n The state, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is a stark supporter of Israel, enacting multiple pieces of pro-Jewish legislation over the past several years.<\/p>\n