When I read the following, I thought the Dutch had lost their minds. . . From Reuters:
“A Dutch court on Friday convicted politician Geert Wilders of insulting a group and inciting discrimination, but it imposed no penalty on him.
“The charges stem from a 2014 incident in which Wilders led supporters to chant that they wanted “Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!” Moroccans in the Netherlands.”
Until I read the following in the NY Post:
“Last week, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2016, a k a S. 10, was introduced in the Senate, read three times, and approved by unanimous consent without debate or amendment — all on one day. That sort of bipartisan consensus, which suggests a bill is so obviously unobjectionable that no discussion is necessary, usually means trouble, and this case is no exception.
“In the name of protecting Jewish students from discrimination, S. 10, if approved by the House, will encourage universities to suppress dissenting political opinions and have a chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech.
“S. 10, introduced by Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Robert Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), codifies a controversial State Department definition of anti-Semitism that includes one-sided criticism of Israel and opposition to Zionism.
Last year, the University of California declined to adopt that definition based on concerns that it would violate the First Amendment by deterring pro-Palestinian activism. S. 10 would have the same effect on a national scale, notwithstanding its assurance that ‘nothing in this Act . . . shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment.’”
