Arizona governor vetoes bill to hold teachers liable for Jew-hatred in schools

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have allowed public school students and their families to sue teachers over antisemitic content in their instruction.

In her veto letter, Hobbs said that the bill was “not about antisemitism. 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 wrote.

“It is disappointing to yet again see this legislature single out and attack our public education system,” she added. (JNS sought comment from the governor’s office.)

Hobbs’s veto announcement cited a letter from the Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center arguing that the bill, HB 2867, could also chill legitimate classroom discussions about the Holocaust.

The center wrote to the governor on June 6 that Holocaust education “invites students to ask tough questions about the legacy of the Holocaust today—questions that often touch on the history of Zionism, the founding of the State of Israel and the persistence of global antisemitism.”

"Under HB 2867, those discussions could be deemed ‘antisemitic’ depending on how a single phrase is interpreted, regardless of intent or context,” wrote Lori Shepherd, the center’s executive director.

“A student misunderstanding a classroom debate, a parent disagreeing with a textbook or a community member recording a lecture out of context—any of these could spark a lawsuit,” Shepherd said. “No teacher would want to teach this history under those conditions.”

"Under the provisions of HB 2867, Arizona would have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Jew-hatred and forbidden education officials from propagating any “antisemitism or antisemitic conduct, act or process that constitutes harassment or discrimination and that creates a hostile educational environment.”

Teachers would have received a reprimand for first offenses, suspension for their second offenses and revocation of their teaching licenses for third offenses.

“This bill was a well-intentioned effort to address a serious problem,” an Arizona-based scholar who studies education policy told JNS.

“Although the bill had some flaws, particularly the concern about infringing on the free speech rights of students, the governor should have worked with the legislature to fix them rather than use them as an excuse to veto the entire bill,” the scholar said. “Sadly, Gov. Hobbs has no plan to address rampant antisemitism at public schools and universities, only lip service.”

The bill passed in the Arizona legislature in May with party-line Republican backing in the Senate and bipartisan support in the House.

"Veto sends a bad message"

Arizona House Republicans slammed Hobbs’s veto as “unacceptable” and “disgraceful.”

“Instead of standing with Jewish students and faculty, Hobbs chose to protect those who promote hate, hostility and violence on campus,” the conservative lawmakers wrote. “She sided with radicals. Not victims.”

Sarah Kader, deputy regional director of the Anti-Defamation League for Arizona and Nevada, says the ADL supports “the spirit and intent” of the bill but is “concerned that the current language will not produce the intended result.”

“We respect Gov. Hobbs’s decision to veto the bill and are committed to working with lawmakers to introduce legislation that prevents antisemitism from seeping into classrooms,” she stated.

Other Jewish groups were critical of Hobbs’s veto.

“Gov. Hobbs is frighteningly wrong,” Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS.

“She is either ignorant or hostile or insensitive to Jewish people’s dramatically increased fear of the rising scourge of Jew-hatred,” he stated. “Or she doesn’t understand this bill hurts no one except overt Jew-haters.”

“If this were legislation protecting blacks or gays or Muslims, she wouldn’t dare veto such a bill,” Klein said. “Her veto also sends a bad message that Arizona will not do everything in their power to stop or minimize the ugly efforts of Jew-hating Israel bashers.”

Sarah Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, told JNS that she questions whether the governor would have vetoed a similar bill regarding other forms of bigotry.

“Would one countenance the vetoing of a bill against racism, against anti-Hispanic attitudes or attitudes against the rights of gays, trans or the handicapped?” she said. “The question simply boils down to this: Are we allowed to teach our children racism across the board towards every other minority group? If we are not, why are we allowed to teach our children antisemitism?”

Stern added that “much of what they are learning in the public and private schools has the power to deeply traumatize a child,” and “these are not things one easily forgets as grown-ups.”

Stern was surprised that Hobbs thought the bill might be regarded as “an attack on public school teaching.”

“One would think that teaching all children to recognize and appreciate their differences could lead to the elimination of hatred,” she said. “Hasn’t that worked with other communities?”

© JNS