Alleged anti-Semitism controversy at FIU ignites statewide review of course material

Carla Mendez | Staff Writer 

As state authorities undertake a targeted review of university curriculum across Florida, attention has been drawn to all courses statewide. This comes in the wake of a recent incident at Florida International University (FIU), where concerns were raised about an exam and textbook used in a Terrorism and Homeland Security class. 

Florida Representative Randy Fine claims credit for initiating the investigation after bringing concerns about alleged anti-Semitic content to the attention of Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. Rodrigues’ choices affect 12 educational institutions and more than 420,000 students. 

The investigation is focused on identifying any content that may be perceived as biased or inflammatory. The effort, however, has raised concerns about the potential impact on academic freedom and the balance between addressing bias and preserving open discourse. 

The controversy began on June 26 when the X account Documenting Israel, which monitors media for anti-Israel bias, tweeted photos of multiple-choice quiz questions they claimed were  “anti-semitic” from the FIU Terrorism and Homeland Security course. 

Representative Fine reposted the account’s claims, stating his intent to discuss the issue with FIU directly and that “#MuslimTerror” has no place at Florida’s public universities. FIU responded quickly to Documenting Israel’s initial post, announcing an investigation into the situation. 

Documenting Israel then revealed the adjunct professor, Mario Reyes, who teaches the course, sparking public outrage. Another post by an X account called StopAntisemitism regarding the situation has reached 116.4k views and sparked criticism and debate in the comments. FIU responded to the post stating they have already started a review of the circumstances. 

Reyes currently teaches Professional Development in Criminal Justice along with the aforementioned class. Additionally, he has been working as a government employee of the United States Department of Defense since May of 2022. 

In response to the controversy, Rodrigues sent an email to all university presidents instructing them to search for specific keywords within course materials. Included in the search are the words: Israel, Israeli, Palestine, Palestinian, Middle East, Zionism, Zionist, Judaism, Jewish, or Jews.

There is still uncertainty about the result for content marked with these keywords. 

The faculty review of the courses will be conducted mid-December since as Rodrigues stated in the email, “…this process will require the BOG to submit a date request to the universities…we won’t have the data available in time to move forward with a review before the Fall semester begins.” 

However, this response drew criticism from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which claimed that publicizing the investigation before it was completed could wrongfully pressure faculty members and stifle academic freedom.

Moreover, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida), the state’s largest civil rights and advocacy organization, put out a statement condemning Rodrigues  in his order to flag courses with the keywords.

The organizations’ Executive Director, Imam Abdullah Jaber called to action Florida families urging them to, “…stand up for our constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech and for academic freedom in our public university system.” 

The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) also put out a statement addressed to the Chancellor, urging him to “refrain from further actions that threatens or undermines speech protected by the First Amendment and academic freedom at the state’s institutions of higher education.” 

The state-wide review has been met with pushback from various organizations and individuals for breaching academic freedom and infringement on freedom of speech. As the investigation continues, much remains unknown about the next steps in the review process. 

Reyes has not released a statement addressing the allegations against his course materials. The email from Rodrigues sent to university presidents’ does not spell out the possible repercussions for professors or courses that are shown to have anti-Semitic or anti-Israel prejudices.