PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed legislation to allow students and their parents to sue teachers over allegations of antisemitism.
In an extensive statement late Tuesday, Hobbs said she believes antisemitism “is a scourge on our society and a deeply troubling issue in our country.’’
“Unfortunately, this bill is not about antisemitism,’’ she said in her veto message.
“It’s about attacking our teachers. It puts an unacceptable level of personal liability in place for our public school, community college, and university educators and staff, opening them up to threats of personally costly lawsuits,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs
She cited provisions in the bill that would have made public school teachers, college instructors and professionals personally liable over complaints they were instructing students in antisemitism or engaging in antisemitic conduct.
It also unfairly targeted public school teachers while shielding private school staff, the Democratic governor said.
Hobbs said her veto isn’t about condoning antisemitism.
“I continue to proudly stand with Arizona’s Jewish community against acts of hate, violence, and harassment, and remain committed to fighting antisemitism in all its forms,’’ she said.
Hobbs cited legislation she signed last year expanding Holocaust education requirements in public schools. And she noted she joined with leaders of the Phoenix Jewish community, including Holocaust survivors, to break ground on the first permanent Holocaust education center in Phoenix — a project using $7 million from the state budget she signed into law last year.
“It was a powerful reminder that the most effective way to combat antisemitism is through education, empathy, and community,’’ she said.
Incidents increasing, supporter says
Her decision comes despite a plea from Rep. Michael Way, sponsor of the legislation, who wrote to Hobbs to remind her that she has said every Arizona child deserves a quality, safe education.
“In the same spirit, HB 2867 aims to ensure that pernicious form of hatred, antisemitism, and its often-violent outcomes, have no place being actively taught in our classrooms or in publicly funded institutions of higher learning,’’ the Queen Creek Republican wrote.
Way told her the measure, crafted at the behest of Jewish residents in his district, came on the heels of reports students have experienced harassment or discrimination based on ideas taught by a teacher. He testified at a committee hearing that teachers at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University were promoting antisemitic ideas, including giving students extra credit to participate in demonstrations against Israel, though he provided no specifics.
He also said incidents of antisemitism have increased since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli war in Gaza that followed, and continues, all of which “make clear that this is a problem that needs to be addressed swiftly and firmly.’’
Way also said the final version of the bill, the one that went to Hobbs, contained language designed to protect free speech.
Also lining up asking that Hobbs sign the bill was Republican state schools chief Tom Horne.
“It is not true that there are no instances of teachers in Arizona schools teaching antisemitism,’’ Horne wrote to the governor. He said Amnesty International distributed pro-Hamas materials to a student club at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale last fall.
Some Jewish groups opposed bill
But Hobbs, in her veto message, pointed out that she also heard from groups including the National Council on Jewish Women which objected specifically to a provision of the bill that would have incorporated a definition of antisemitism, written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), into state law.
That definition includes “contemporary examples of antisemitism.’’ These range from violence against Jews in the name of radical ideology, to making “stereotypical allegations” about Jewish people.
But it also includes any claim that the existence of Israel is a “racist endeavor’’ and “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,’’ a provision that drew concerns it would encompass criticism of how Israel is handling the war in Gaza.
“It was never intended to be a campus hate speech code,’’ wrote Jodi Liggett for the NCJW.
It includes any claim that the existence of Israel is a “racist endeavor’’ and “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,’’ a provision that drew concerns it would encompass criticism of how Israel is handling the war in Gaza.
“It was never intended to be a campus hate speech code,’’ wrote Jodi Liggett for the National Council on Jewish Women.
That language in the definition also provoked a letter to Hobbs from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups urging a veto.
Chilling of speech?
Signers also questioned the legality of HB 2867.
They pointed out that CAIR, representing Students for Justice in Palestine, sued after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed schools there to adopt the IHRA definition in determining the limits of permissible speech. In a preliminary ruling, a federal judge said it appears to impose “impermissible viewpoint discrimination that chills speech in violation of the First Amendment.’’
The same concern was raised by Darrel Hill of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
“HB 2867 will chill speech on Israel and Jewish culture generally because teachers, administrators, and speakers will fear the possibility of lawsuits if a classroom discussion veers off course or a student expresses opinions that some may consider improper criticism of Israel,’’ he wrote. “To limit liability and protect themselves, teachers will broadly avoid speaking about Israel and any discussion of current or past conflicts involving Israel.’’
Lori Shepherd, executive director of the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, expressed similar concerns.
Consider, she said, the state mandate to teach about the Holocaust. “We must allow educators the freedom to tell the whole story,’’ she wrote to Hobbs. “That includes not only the horror of the death camps, but the complicated history that led there — and the equally complicated world that emerged post-Holocaust.’’
Shepherd said this legislation would not stop antisemitism.
“It will only intimidate teachers, restrict honest discussion, and reduce one of the most profound educational experiences we can offer our students to a sanitized, state-approved script,’’ she said.
Tucson resident Golda Velez had her own reasons for seeking a veto, some of them political.
Velez told the governor she has friends in Israel who hate the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and its corruption and violence and who go daily to protest against it.’’ She said they are looking for “a peaceful solution that includes human rights for all.’’
“This bill directly harms that possibility by silencing needed discussion,’’ Velez said.
Hobbs, in the end, said in her veto she believes the measure is unnecessary.
“Students and parents already have avenues through the State Board of Education to report allegations of unprofessional conduct, including antisemitism and all other forms of hate they may encounter in the classroom,’’ she wrote. “I am confident that by using those tools, we can fulfill our moral and legal responsibility to eradicate hate and discrimination in our public school system.’’
The veto also avoided the possibility that Hobbs could find herself at political odds with most fellow Democrats. Not a single Democratic senator in the Republican-controlled Legislature voted for the measure. And it had the support of just four of the 27 House Democrats.
