© Reuters / Tom Brenner
US President Donald Trump holds up an executive order on anti-semitism that he signed during a Hanukkah reception at the White House
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that he claims will help combat anti-Semitic discrimination based on "race, color, or national origin," as critics say it
only shields the state of Israel from any criticism.
Citing the "rise of anti-Semitism" on college campuses and elsewhere, the move seeks to apply the 1964 Civil Rights Act to Jewish Americans, and calls on the government to find new ways to "use nondiscrimination authorities" to address the issue.
"This is our message to universities: if you want to accept the tremendous amount of federal dollars you get every year, you must reject anti-semitism; it's very simple," President Trump said after signing the
order.
Some critics have posited a different purpose altogether, however: beating back criticism of Israel and silencing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which looks to bring international pressure on Israel to cease its occupation of Palestinian lands.
The president singled out the initiative by name in his signing statement, insisting his administration has "taken a firm stand against the so-called divestment and sanctions movement."
"It is designed to chill any kind of speech that is critical of Israel," Joe Cohn, legislative and policy director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, told the
Wall Street Journal. "This would be unconstitutional."
Comment: Take it with a grain of salt. ImageSat International is a favorite go-to for propaganda photos.