Florida Scours College Textbooks, Looking for Antisemitism
State University System to Review Course Materials for Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias
The test questions from a class at Florida International University enraged Randy Fine, a state lawmaker endorsed by President Donald Trump. One of the questions, uploaded onto social media by a student, said that Palestine was a country before Israel was created. Another seemed to suggest that Zionists invented terrorism. To Fine, they were proof that college textbooks and the test materials that accompany them were awash in antisemitism.
Fine, who is Jewish and calls himself “the Hebrew Hammer,” said it made him wonder, “How many other Muslim terror textbooks are being used in our university system?”
The sprawling State University System of Florida, which educates more than 430,000 students, has been trying to find out. Ray Rodrigues, the system’s chancellor, removed the textbook, “Terrorism and Homeland Security,” from use in the system, pending a review. Then, in August, he announced a remarkable effort that has worried some professors and advocates of academic freedom: All 12 universities he oversees were to set up faculty panels to vet course materials, including textbooks, for antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.
To Rodrigues, the test questions Fine objected to were not only biased or antisemitic, they were also illegal under a 2024 Florida statute that defines some criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
A Random, Inappopriate Choice
The subject of the class that sparked the statewide effort might seem unexpected. It was not in one of the disciplines, like sociology, that right-leaning lawmakers have targeted in recent years, arguing that they were bastions of left-leaning ideology. Rather, the course was on terrorism and homeland security, taught by an instructor who had served in the Marines. And the primary author of the textbook is a longtime security researcher who oversaw local anti-terrorism training efforts in a Republican administration.
“This is such a random, inappropriate choice,” said Martha Schoolman, an English professor who has spoken out against the textbook screening effort. “But it also doesn’t matter. Because once you’ve decided it’s your job to vet everything for antisemitism, nothing’s going to pass.”
The State’s Effort
The statewide vetting effort is unfolding at a time when academia is still reeling from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and the military response from Israel. Campuses that were roiled last spring by demonstrations protesting Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip have quieted. But under pressure from lawmakers, many colleges and universities have tightened their rules governing protests, expelled students for conduct violations, and scrutinized classes.
The Florida effort stands out. At the K-12 level, conservatives have long pushed school districts to ban books and publishers to examine curriculum for inappropriate material. In higher education, though, such scrutiny had been relatively rare. The vetting of course materials has been squarely in the domain of professors and their departments.
Fine’s Search for Accountability
Fine began searching for accountability. At first, he looked to the course instructor, Mario Reyes, an adjunct professor. Fine wrote on social media that Reyes “shouldn’t buy green bananas for his office,” suggesting that his days in the job were limited. But after learning that Reyes, a Marine veteran who works for the Department of Defense, did not write the test questions, he turned his attention instead to the textbook and its authors.
The primary author of the book, Jonathan R. White, has credentials that hardly seem associated with a pro-Palestinian bias. He served in the George W. Bush administration after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and taught about terrorism and homeland security for decades at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He conducted counterterrorism training for police and military forces, according to his biography.
A Review of the Textbook
A review of the textbook by The New York Times found that it was more nuanced than the three test questions. The textbook does not say or imply that Palestine has been an independent country in modern times, nor that Zionists invented terrorism. In a book passage that appears to be the basis of one of the test questions under scrutiny, the author provided an Israeli perspective that terrorism in the region was associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization. It also included a Palestinian perspective that Israelis had used terrorist tactics until they developed a conventional military force.
Consequences and Criticism
Academic freedom groups like the American Association of University Professors have blasted the state textbook-vetting effort, calling it “thought policing” that “deepens Florida’s increasingly authoritarian approach to higher education.” Faculty members have said that it may violate their collective-bargaining agreement, which grants professors the right to “determine pedagogy.”
Laura Leibman, the president of the Association of Jewish Studies, said the effort represented good intentions gone awry. She said she worried about having people without subject-matter expertise vetting course materials based on murky criteria.
* The New York Times
* State University System of Florida
* American Association of University Professors
* Association of Jewish Studies
FAQs
* What is the state’s effort?
The state is reviewing course materials, including textbooks, for antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.
* Why is this effort necessary?
The effort is necessary to ensure that course materials are free from bias and discrimination.
* Who is conducting the reviews?
Faculty panels will conduct the reviews, with input from subject-matter experts.
* What is the criteria for identifying antisemitism?
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition will be used, which includes calling the creation of Israel a “racist endeavor” or holding Israel to a “double standard” as examples of antisemitic behavior.
