Students Supporting Israel, a national advocacy organization, said that the Catholic University of America is setting “a deeply troubling precedent” by requiring its campus chapter to include opposing viewpoints in order to host two proposed events.
In a letter to the private university in Washington, D.C., the organization objected to conditions placed on events featuring U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), who was slated to speak about rising antisemitism, and Israel Defense Forces Col. (res.) Dany Tirza, a chief architect of Israel’s security fence in Judea and Samaria.
“Forcing these students to ‘balance’ their events by including speakers who may oppose the existence of the state of Israel or challenge the legitimacy of their concerns about antisemitism is not an exercise in academic freedom. It is forced speech,” the letter states.
The group also argued that the requirement was applied selectively, stating that “no other student organization is required to platform opposition to its core mission as a condition of participation in campus life.” According to the letter, Felipe Avila, president of the SSI chapter, wrote that the campus “College Democrats recently held an event featuring an activist who advocates for legalized, expanded abortion access, without an opposing speaker.”
“To impose such a requirement selectively on Jewish and pro-Israel students raises serious concerns about unequal treatment and viewpoint discrimination,” the organization wrote.
Students Supporting Israel called on the university to reverse its decision, approve the events as originally proposed and publicly affirm that student groups will not be required to host opposing viewpoints as a condition for event approval.
Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Department of Justice’s task force on combating antisemitism, reacted skeptically to reports about the university’s “balance” requirement, writing on social media, “Is this a joke?”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told the university in a separate letter that, because of its stated commitment to free speech, the university cannot force the student group to provide opposing viewpoints.
A university spokesman told JNS in response to the FIRE letter that the administration invited “Students Supporting Israel to submit a restructured proposal, and to work within university processes to host a thoughtful conversation.”
“As a private, religious institution, Catholic University is well within its rights to approve or deny any speaker request,” the spokesman said. “We remain committed to finding a path forward with SSI.”
