Free-speech group FIRE blasts Catholic University for blocking antisemitism speakers

A prominent free-speech group slammed the Catholic University of America for telling a pro-Israel student group it cannot host talks on antisemitism unless it gives equal time to opposing views.

The private campus in Northeast Washington informed the students last month that Rep. Randy Fine, Florida Republican, could not speak on “the documented rise of antisemitism across the United States” because the planned event lacked “speakers representing both sides of this issue.”

Administrators also blocked retired Israeli Defense Forces Col. Dany Tirza, the architect of Israel’s security fence, from giving a talk on how and why it was built.

They invited the student group in a Feb. 25 email to “restructure” the events and “resubmit a request to have speakers representing both sides of this issue.”

The students appealed to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression for help. The Philadelphia free-speech group obliged, accusing the D.C. school in a letter of selectively enforcing a “balanced presentation” policy to suppress hot-button views.

“While CUA is a private university and therefore not bound by the First Amendment, it is legally and morally bound to adhere to the institutional commitments it has voluntarily made to protect students’ freedom of speech,” FIRE attorney Jessie Appleby wrote on March 18.

Ms. Appleby called on university President Peter Kilpatrick in the letter to consistently enforce the school’s free-speech policy, which lets groups express views that don’t conflict with Catholic beliefs.

She also noted that the school has allowed other campus groups to host Democratic and Republican speakers in past years without requiring that “both sides” speak at events.

Examples include the College Democrats hosting a pro-choice speaker last month and conservatives from the student chapter of Young America’s Foundation hosting the commentator Matt Walsh for his “What Is a Woman?” book tour in October 2022.

Administrators did not require opposing speakers at either event.

As of Tuesday, the university had not responded to FIRE’s letter.

In a statement to The Washington Times, a Catholic University spokesperson touted the school’s commitment to fighting antisemitism and welcoming “people of all faiths.”

“We have invited Students Supporting Israel to submit a restructured proposal, and to work within University processes to host a thoughtful conversation,” the spokesperson wrote. “As a private, religious institution, Catholic University is well within its rights to approve or deny any speaker request.”

Felipe Avila, a senior nursing major from Las Vegas and campus president of Students Supporting Israel, made the speaker requests in January.

He called the university’s requirement an “alarming institutional overreach” in an email.

“This comes just days after a House Committee report concluded that university administrators are still failing to show decisive leadership against campus antisemitism,” Mr. Avila said. “We expect the university to honor its commitments, end this double standard, and give Students Supporting Israel the same expressive rights enjoyed by everyone else.”

It’s the second time this academic year that Catholic University has blocked the student group’s pro-Israel programs.

Administrators on Oct. 7 dismantled an Israeli-flagged memorial to victims of the 2023 Hamas terror attack for violating a campus ban on foreign banners.

They said they removed several hundred Israeli flags from the university lawn because the group disregarded a request to change the memorial before erecting it.

Mr. Avila noted that the school created the policy and applied it to only his group after letting others display Ukrainian and Palestinian banners in previous years.

A spokesperson for Students Supporting Israel, an activist network with more than 140 collegiate chapters nationwide, said this week that the university’s speaker policy likewise requires Jewish students to minimize their “lived experiences of antisemitism.”

“It is forced speech,” the national group said in an emailed statement. “No other student organization is required to platform opposition to its core mission as a condition of participation in campus life.”

Other views

Some legal experts reached for comment noted that universities often use “equal time” rules to muffle contentious voices.

“Student organizations should be free to pick their speakers and advocate whatever positions they like,” said Ilya Shapiro, a libertarian constitutional law expert at the Manhattan Institute. “Moreover, when the position advocated is ’antisemitism is bad,’ does anyone really need a counterpoint?”

Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, noted that the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that the Christian Legal Society must admit non-Christian members.

“But not even that case required the group to put on programming critical of Christianity,” Mr. Blackman said.

William A. Jacobson, a Cornell University law professor, questioned whether Catholic University would require Muslims to host pro-Israel speakers at a campus speech.