Hobbs vetoes bill that would have allowed lawsuits against Arizona teachers over antisemitism

Arizona won't be allowing students and their parents to sue teachers over allegations of antisemitism.

In an extensive statement late Tuesday, Gov. Katie Hobbs said she believe that antisemitism "is a scourge on our society and a deeply troubling issue in our country."

But the governor, in her veto message, said that the bill that reached her desk really has nothing to do with antisemitism.

Instead, she cited the provisions that would have made public school teachers and college instructors and professionals personally liable over complaints that they were instructing students in antisemitism or engaging in antisemitic conduct. And that was on top of the teachers facing professional discipline.

"Unfortunately, this bill is not about antisemitism,'' Hobbs said.

"It's about attacking our teachers,'' she continued. "It puts an unacceptable level of personal liability in place for our public school, community college, and university educators and staff, opening them up to threats of personally costly lawsuits.''

What it also is, the governor said, unfair, saying it unfairly targets public school teachers while shielding private school staff.''

"It is disappointing to yet again see this Legislature single out and attack our public education system,'' she said.

Hobbs said her veto isn't about condoning antisemitism.

"I continue to proudly stand with Arizona’s Jewish community against acts of hate, violence, and harassment, and remain committed to fighting antisemitism in all its forms,'' the governor said.

Hobbs cited legislation she signed last year expanding Holocaust education requirements in our public schools. And she noted she joined with leaders of the Phoenix Jewish community, including Holocaust survivors, to break ground on what will be the first permanent Holocaust education center in Phoenix -- a project that included $7 million from the state budget she signed into law last year.

"It was a powerful reminder that the most effective way to combat antisemitism is through education, empathy, and community,'' she said.

Her decision comes despite a plea from Rep. Michael Way, the sponsor of the legislation, who wrote to Hobbs to reminder her that she has said she believes every Arizona child deserves a quality, safe education.

"In the same spirit, HB 2867 aims to ensure that pernicious form of hatred, antisemitism, and its often-violent outcomes, have no place being actively taught in our classrooms or in publicly funded institutions of higher learning,'' the Queen Creek Republican wrote to the governor.

Way said this isn't an academic issue.

He told the governor said the measure, crafted at the behest of Jewish residents in his district, comes on the heels of reports that students have experienced harassment or discrimination based on ideas taught by a teacher. And Way testified at a committee hearing that teachers at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University were promoting antisemetic ideas, including giving students extra credit to participate in demonstrations against Israel, though he provided no specifics.

He also said that incidents of antisemitism have increased since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli invasion that followed -- and continues -- all of which "make clear that this is a problem that needs to be addressed swiftly and firmly.''

Way also said the final version of the bill -- the one that went to Hobbs -- contained language designed to protect free speech.

Also lining up asking that she sign the bill was state schools chief Tom Horne.

"It is not true that there are no instances of teachers in Arizona schools teaching antisemitism,'' he wrote to the governor. He said that Amnesty International distributed pro-Hamas materials to a student club at Desert Mountain High School last fall.

But the governor, in her veto message, pointed out that she also heard from groups like the National Council on Jewish Women, which objected specifically to a provision of the bill that would have incorporated a definition of antisemitism crafted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance into state law.

That definition also includes "contemporary examples of antisemitism.'' These range from things like killing of Jews in the same of radical ideology to making "stereotypical allegations,'' such as Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.''

But it also includes any claim that the existence of Israel is a "racist endeavor'' and "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,'' a provision that drew concerns it would encompass criticism of how Israel is handling the war in Gaza.

Hobbs, in the end, said in her veto she believes the measure is unnecessary.

"Students and parents already have avenues through the State Board of Education to report allegations of unprofessional conduct, including antisemitism and all other forms of hate they may encounter in the classroom,'' she wrote. "I am confident that by using those tools, we can fulfill our moral and legal responsibility to eradicate hate and discrimination in our public school system.''

The veto also avoided the possibility that Hobbs could find herself at political odds with most fellow Democrats.

Not a single Democratic senator voted for the measure. And it had the support of just four of the 27 House Democrats.