JERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister welcomed on Thursday President Donald Trump's executive order targeting what the White House describes as a growing problem of anti-Semitic harassment on U.S. college campuses. The order instructs the U.S. Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism — which can include criticism of Israel — when evaluating discrimination complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. On that basis, the education department could withhold funding from universities that it finds in violation of the article. Critics say the order is designed less to combat anti-Semitism than to have a chilling effect on free speech and to crack down on campus critics of Israel. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu countered that free speech was not limitless.

Source: International New York Times December 12, 2019 12:56 UTC