A day after the University of California System decided not to support the Assembly's anti-Semitic resolution, Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal- Long Beach, Democrat-has assured that she would find a fix to the resolution so as to acknowledge the free speech rights.
The symbolic resolution which does not have any policy obligations whatsoever, stirred a controversy immediately after it was passed unanimously Tuesday. The university rejected it saying it violates the First Amendment rights on campus.
Lowenthal said Wednesday she will work on the resolution and will address the first amendment concerns when the legislature reconvenes in January, reports AP.
"I'm not sure what all it's going to say, but I think it will boil down to a celebration of the First Amendment," Lowenthal said in a statement. "And it will make clear in no uncertain terms that students in our universities should feel safe to have differing opinions."
Another lawmaker Linda Halderman, a Republican from Fresno authored the resolution. Around 66 of the Assembly's 80 members signed the resolution as co-authors.
The resolution urged all the public universities in the state including University of California system to ban a wide range of anti-Israel demonstrations in an attempt to curb anti-Semitism in campuses. The most of the instances cited in the resolution happen to be concerned with Israel-Palestine debates on campus.
Many who are against the resolution have problems with the way pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel demonstrations are equated with anti-Semitism. Some groups including Council on American Islamic Relations, the National Lawyers Guild and Jewish Voice for Peace have reportedly sent letters to lawmakers condemning the resolution, AP reports.
Lowenthal expressed regret over the fact that the resolution has garnered controversy. But, Halderman defended her authored report saying that the uproar over 'a resolution that simply protects students from victimization based on religious faith' is unnecessary.
Incidentally, Halderman supposed to have lost her family in the Holocaust, according to Lowenthal.
With an increase in the reported cases of hate crime, the clear distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Israel needs to be established to differentiate the instances of attacks against religious faith and attacks against political beliefs. Once that distinction is successfully achieved, only then it seems the affirmation or violation of first amendment rights can be discussed.
