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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed an executive order requiring public institutions of higher education in the state to update their free speech policies to include the definition of antisemitism and establish appropriate punishments, “including expulsion,” for antisemitic rhetoric, The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.
The order also calls on universities to ensure the enforcement of such policies, specifically naming two organizations that should face “discipline”: the Palestine Solidarity Committee and Students for Justice in Palestine.
The order aims to address the rise in antisemitism that many colleges have reported since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians. Abbott said that antisemitic graffiti has appeared on buildings that house Jewish student groups. He also noted that the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—which many supporters of Israel consider a call for the destruction of the country—has been chanted by pro-Palestinian students during protests and walkouts.
“Some radical organizations on our campuses engaged in acts that have no place in Texas,” Abbott said in a press release. “Now, we must work to ensure that our college campuses are safe spaces for members of the Jewish community.”
Each public university must report the revisions made to its free speech policy within 90 days.
