Rufo:

I am committed to the fight against antisemitism on campus, but I am concerned about the highlighted provisions in Governor Abbott’s executive order, which instructs universities to “update free speech policies” to prohibit “antisemitic speech.”

How is such a policy different from DEI programs promising to prohibit “anti-black speech”? And why not include “anti-white speech,” which, as I have shown in my reporting, is institutionalized at University of Texas? What is the rationale for one, but not the others?

The problem, to me, seems to be conduct, rather than speech: shutting down speakers, threatening students, mobilizing mobs, calling for violence—all of which can be regulated as prohibited conduct, with a universal, rather than particular, policy.

There is a better solution: provide simple, clear, general rules that apply equally to all groups—a universal standard. It will solve the immediate problem of rising antisemitism, while providing a long-term framework that respects the right to free speech and equal protection.

Concerning.

Here’s the executive order:

Conservatives would be wise not to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in the case of DEI and free speech.