TICHENOR: ‘HATE HAS NO PLACE ON CAMPUS’ FOLLOWING UK PROFESSOR PETITION
FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 18, 2025) — The following is a statement from Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 55 and co-chair of the Kentucky-Israel Caucus, in response to recent reports involving a University of Kentucky professor under investigation for allegedly circulating antisemitic material.
“The reports coming out of our taxpayer-funded flagship university are incredibly disturbing. A law professor calling for the destruction of Israel and against the right for the Jewish people to have self-determination is not a policy disagreement, but a call to violence. That is not academic discourse. It’s antisemitism and racism and abuse of his power, plain and simple.
“Kentuckians have every right to expect that our public universities will foster free and open debate. But when speech crosses the line into targeted hate, institutions must act. I applaud UK’s leadership for swiftly removing this individual from the classroom and launching an external legal review. This is exactly the kind of situation that makes clear why legislative action during the 2025 Legislative Session was necessary.
“I was proud to sponsor Senate Joint Resolution 55 which directed every public college and university in Kentucky to adopt clear policies to identify and address antisemitic conduct. It also requires data reporting to help the General Assembly monitor trends and ensure appropriate action is being taken, not just talked about.
“I filed SJR 55 because we did not just see this coming. Cases of antisemitism on college campuses exploded following the heinous October 7 attack on Israel. They have remained persistent since. The environment on college campuses is shifting, and sadly, Jewish students are too often the target of this potentially dangerous hatred. While some have tried to downplay the issue upon my joint op-ed submission with Sen. Robby Mills —even refusing to publish our concerns in two cases—this moment proves that ignoring antisemitism doesn’t make it go away. It emboldens it.
"I want to thank University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto for his strong and unequivocal condemnation of this hateful message. His leadership in this moment sends a clear signal that antisemitism has no place on our campuses. As one of the most respected voices in higher education, President Capilouto’s response reinforces the importance of moral clarity and swift institutional accountability.
“Kentucky is not going to look the other way. We will stand with our Jewish communities, and we will hold our public institutions accountable to the values of safety, dignity and equal protection for all students.”
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Find Tichenor’s and Mills’s recent op-ed “Antisemitism on college campuses is old hate repackaged“ by clicking here.
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Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, represents the 6th Senate District, including Oldham and Trimble Counties and part of Jefferson County. She serves on the Interim Joint Committees on Education; Health Services; Local Government; State Government; and Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection. She is also a member of the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity and the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee. Additionally, she is a liaison member of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services. In 2024, she served on the Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force.
Please visit https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislators Full Res Images/senate106.jpg for a high-resolution JPEG file of Tichenor.
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