Resolution passes after three weeks of debate, community input and calls for more student involvement

BY RITHVIK HARI, STAFF WRITER

In a 14-2 vote with four abstaining, the Undergraduate Representative Body passed a resolution on Nov. 20 condemning the university’s February implementation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition and examples of antisemitism. 

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“Resolution #04, A Resolution to Condemn the Implementation of the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism at George Mason University,” was sponsored by Representative Draac Saunders and co-sponsored by Administrative and Financial Affairs Chair Declan Rees, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair Brandon Taci and Government and Community Relations Chair Griffin Crouch. 

“[The] Undergraduate Representative Body recognizes the IHRA Definition of antisemitism as a weapon against students and faculty activism that is inadequate for combatting antisemitism,” part of the statement reads. “… [The] Undergraduate Representative Body condemns the rash implementation of the IHRA Definition at George Mason University by University Administration and the Board of Visitors.” 

On Feb. 27, the Board of Visitors adopted a resolution saying Mason will not endorse events or organizations that conflict with the IHRA definition and examples of antisemitism. The university’s Non Discrimination Policy (University Policy 1201) was altered in Aug. 2024 to include the IHRA definition and examples.

The IHRA defines antisemitism as “…a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” 

According to the IHRA, examples of antisemitism include advocating, supporting or excusing violence against Jews in the name of radical ideology or extreme religious views; accusing Jews collectively or the State of Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; and “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination … by claiming that existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” among other behaviors.​

Registered student organizations that endorsed the Student Government resolution to condemn the IHRA definition include Jewish Voice for Peace at George Mason University, Students for Justice in Palestine at Mason, and Mason’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

On Oct. 29, Palestine Legal and Mason’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine threatened to sue the university over its demand toward SJP to remove a video posted on their Instagram over the summer. When demanding the video to be taken down, the Office of Access, Compliance, and Community notified SJP that the video contained the usage of phrases that violated the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism.

The Student Government resolution said that “free speech is necessary to a free society, and the United States’ Supreme Court has consistently and historically held that speech cannot be regulated on the basis of viewpoint.” The resolution recognized the university’s demand for SJP to remove their video may be a violation of the First Amendment and federal civil rights law. 

Public comment on the representative body’s resolution was made by faculty members, students and community members during multiple Undergraduate Representative Body meetings on Nov. 6, 13 and 20. 

Representative Declan Rees argued during one of the meetings that the purpose of the resolution is to take a stand and make a statement.

“The fact of the matter is that the usage of this definition does little to actually protect Jewish students as much as it protects against any criticism against Israel,” he said.

Representative Gus Schmoll cautioned the representative body about potential restrictions on student free speech through the adoption of the IHRA definition, but that the proposed resolution needed more changes to be made before the full body voted on it. In the meeting on Nov. 6, his motion to send the resolution back to committee failed.

Several individuals during public comment sessions took issue with the Student Government’s lack of outreach to Jewish students following the conflict. 

“Jewish students were left out of the conversation,” Mackenzie Liu, a member of Mason Hillel, said. 

Liu told the body she believed the responding measure was one sided and called on representatives to reach out to Jewish organizations on campus. 

“I’ve been scared to show my Judaism on campus,” Liu said.

Mason student Alex Sherman was also critical of the Student Government’s resolution and claimed the Board of Visitors’ revision plays a significant role in addressing discrimination. 

“The IHRA [definition] doesn’t limit free speech, it limits discrimination disguised as political expression. It helps ensure Jewish students are treated fairly and protected at a time when antisemitic incidents are at a historic high,” Sherman said at the Nov 6 meeting.

After Sherman’s comments, Academics Chair Andre Esteves motioned to send the legislation back to the Administrative and Finance Committee. The motion, the second of the Nov. 6 meeting, passed 8-5, with 8 abstentions and several frustrated representatives claiming that the vote to send the resolution back to committee was premature.

Mason student Sky Robertson spoke in favor of the resolution condemning the IHRA definition. 

“It’s a student’s right to say anything about a foreign nation,” Robertson said. “It is not Islamophobic to say things about an Islamic state.”

Ben Manski, an assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, said the IHRA definition raised broader concerns for him “as a Jew who does not believe that there should be any state, whether it’s Germany, or Israel or Palestine … in which one people have privileged status over other people,” he said. 

Manski also noted that several BOV members who supported the definition may soon no longer be serving on the board, as Virginia governor-elect Abigail Spanberger will have the power of choosing nominees for Virginia’s public universities once she is inaugurated.

Caleb Nochumson, a member of the community connected with Mason Hillel and Chabad, suggested keeping the IHRA definition itself but working on supplementary documents to establish how it would be applied.

“I think that it’ll be a more productive conversation if we’re able to look at that existing definition and say, ‘How does this actually work on our campus, and how can we add additional thoughts, policies and standards on how we think we should enforce and adopt it?’” Nochumson said.

Throughout multiple meetings of debate over the resolution, Student Engagement and Support Chair Summer Dooley invited students to submit their thoughts and views via email to the Undergraduate Representative Body to allow for greater inclusion. 

The resolution came back to the floor for final deliberation during the Undergraduate Student Body’s meeting on Nov. 20. After a brief discussion on amendments and additional comments from the gallery, the resolution was moved to an anonymous vote and passed. 

The Student Government’s resolution expresses the opinion of the Student Government to the Board of Visitors, but the Undergraduate Representative Body does not have the power to amend university policy.