Ashley Moody urges Florida colleges to protect Jewish students and prohibit Hamas support

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Attorney General Ashley Moody urged Florida colleges and universities to protect Jewish students from hate crimes as Jewish students report “feeling threatened” by pro-Hamas groups on college campuses.

“Florida colleges and universities must act with a sense of urgency to protect Jewish students from unlawful acts motivated by antisemitism and hatred on campus,” Moody said.

Following recent “barbaric” terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas and expressions of support for these “atrocities” on college campuses, Moody called for a “zero-tolerance policy” for hate crimes and reminded campus law enforcement leaders about Florida laws protecting Jewish students.

“I reminded university police chiefs of state laws that protect against hate crimes and prohibit the support of terrorist organizations like Hamas—instructing them to make arrests when appropriate,” Moody said.

Moody sent a memo to all Florida colleges and universities, and all campus police chiefs, reminding them of Florida’s zero-tolerance policy for hate crimes, including those based on religious and ethnic heritage.

The attorney general encouraged all campus police chiefs and college officials to “remain vigilant” to ensure the safety of students and faculty.

“Israel and the Jewish community are being violently attacked by Hamas and now feel threatened here in the United States,” she said. “We must ensure the safety of Jewish students attending colleges and universities in our state.”

In Moody’s memo, she included various Florida statutes that outlaw antisemitic hate crimes and supporting terrorist organizations including:

• Section 1000.05 includes religion as a protected class with regard to discrimination against students and employees in Florida’s K-20 public education system. The law requires a public K-20 educational institution to treat discrimination by students or employees or resulting from institutional policies motivated by antisemitism in an identical manner to discrimination motivated by race.
• Section 775.085 increases the felony or misdemeanor degree of an offense if the commission of the offense shows prejudice based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status or advanced age of the victim. It also creates a civil remedy for persons or organizations who are the victims of hate crimes. 
• Sections 784.0493, 806.13, and 810.098 were signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 1. These laws prohibit the willful and malicious harassing or intimidating of another person based on the person’s wearing or displaying of an indicia relating to religious or ethnic heritage and provide further protections for persons on a state university or Florida College System institution. 

She encouraged campus law enforcement officers considering charging a suspect under the Florida statutes to make “expedited arrests when appropriate.”

Moody said in her memo that Jewish students report “feeling threatened” as a result of antisemitism on campuses. Since Hamas struck Israel in a surprise attack, there have been many pro-Hamas demonstrations throughout the U.S.

Moody pointed to a recent report, which found that 57% of Jewish college students report having witnessed or experienced an antisemitic incident nationwide. 

The attorney general included specific recent incident reports in “just the last week” which included a Jewish student at Columbia University who she said was beaten with a stick in front of the school library after hanging flyers with the names and pictures of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas.

Another incident report Moody included in the memo was a Jewish student at Drexel University who she said was the victim of arson in his dorm room.

“Florida stands with Israel and those affected by Hamas’s horrific crimes, and we cannot stand by and let those who wish to terrorize, harass, assault, or threaten our Jewish communities do so with impunity,” Moody said in her memo.