Houston, we have a problem.
Deep in the Heart of Texas, there’s a whiff of something plumb rotten that doesn’t sit quite right with the Texas sense of fair play. I’m talking, if you hadn’t guessed, about the discriminatory anti-Israel resolutions being pushed at Rice University that appear poised to “other” and target Jewish and Israeli students, and deprive them of fair opportunities. It’s not just a question of what’s right; it’s a question of what’s legal and what kind of state Texas wants to be.
Last spring, Rice University faced a similar challenge and moved decisively to take appropriate action. When Rice’s Student Association (SA) considered an anti-Israel resolution last semester, a student filed an urgent discrimination complaint with Rice’s Office of Access, Equity and Equal Opportunity (AEEO), which directed the SA not to proceed with the vote. That resolution would have prohibited SA-managed funds from going to companies that do business with Israel as identified by the genocidal forces of BDS, which call for the elimination of the State of Israel and the end of Jewish sovereignty.
In October 2024, however, Rice’s SA is attempting to pass the buck to the student body as a whole by organizing a referendum on four anti-Israel resolutions. These resolutions potentially categorize and isolate Jewish students in an alarming way. One of the resolutions, S. REF 04, calls for Rice to institutionalize an “anti-colonial commitment” by materially supporting Palestinian and anti-colonial scholarship. Another, S. REF 02, undermines the scholarships and resources available to Jewish and Israeli students by divesting from educational partnerships, companies and institutions that are considered to “profit from” war, an attempt to force a boycott of institutions that recognize or do business with Israel.
This isn’t just wrong; it falls against the law. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects all students, including Jewish students, from discrimination based on race, color, and national origin. Office of Civil Rights (OCR) says a hostile environment is one that “limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from a recipient’s education program or activity.” The OCR at the U.S. Department of Education has found schools liable for creating a “possible hostile environment” for Jewish students that the university did not take effective action to address and for failing to examine whether a broader problem existed on campus for Jewish students.
Similarly, Texas law protects Jewish and Israeli students from this type of discrimination. Texas law requires any businesses contracting with any state agency, higher education institution or local government to confirm that they have not boycotted Israel in the past and agree that they would refrain from doing so for the duration of the contract.
Accordingly, the attempted discrimination would disqualify Rice from receiving state funds. Rice’s proposed referenda also fall afoul of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s continuing direction that “Texas colleges and universities must remain vigilant in combating antisemitism and maintaining a safe environment for Jewish faculty and students.”
The fact of the matter is that a surge in antisemitism consistently accompanies BDS campaigns across the country. Antisemitism on United States campuses is already at historic highs, with 73% of American Jewish college students personally experiencing or witnessing antisemitism in the last school year. Rice University’s administration should now ban these inflammatory and discriminatory resolutions before they ever come before the student body.
