University campuses are the front line of Palestinian human rights advocacy in the U.S., but a new report by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal documents hundreds of cases in which students and scholars have been punished for expressing themselves.
Watch the testimony of some of those who have dared to speak out, as they describe the backlash they’ve faced.
In 2014, Palestine Legal—a nonprofit legal and advocacy organization supporting Palestine activism—responded to 152 incidents of censorship, punishment, or other burdening of advocacy for Palestinian rights and received 68 additional requests for legal assistance in anticipation of such actions. In the first six months of 2015 alone, Palestine Legal responded to 140 incidents and 33 requests for assistance in anticipation of potential suppression. These numbers understate the phenomenon, as many advocates who are unaware of their rights or afraid of attracting further scrutiny stay silent and do not report incidents of suppression. The overwhelming majority of these incidents—89 percent in 2014 and 80 percent in the first half of 2015—targeted students and scholars, a reaction to the increasingly central role universities play in the movement for Palestinian rights.
The tactics used to silence advocacy for Palestinian rights frequently follow recognizable patterns. Activists and their protected speech are routinely maligned as uncivil, divisive, antisemitic, or supportive of terrorism. Institutional actors—primarily in response to pressure from Israel advocacy groups—erect bureaucratic barriers that thwart efforts to discuss abuses of Palestinian rights and occasionally even cancel events or programs altogether.
5 Comments
Paybacksays..."Don't mention The War!" - Basil Fawlty
newtboysays...That's pretty disgusting....but sadly not at all unexpected. Various factions have seemingly taken control of the bastions of higher learning and systematically destroyed what I always saw as their fundamental function, fostering an ability to logically think for one's self. Anyone not on the 'right' side must be on the 'wrong' side and not worth listening to...or worthy of allowing others to listen to, I guess. That ain't learnin'...that's just mutual mental masturbation.
It's pretty funny/sad/telling that supporters of Palestine are called anti-Semitic, since Palestinians are also Semites, aren't they? The word doesn't mean 'Jewish', it's an ethnicity that includes 'Arabs'.
bobknight33says...Funny. When you are an idiot and support Palestinian you deserve to be black listed.
Just now need to black list the colleges that also support this crap. Would be a step in the right direction.
gorillamansays...A frequent dissenter here, arguing that dissenting opinions should be suppressed.
Funny. When you are an idiot and support Palestinian you deserve to be black listed.
Just now need to black list the colleges that also support this crap. Would be a step in the right direction.
iauisays...You can now never use support of free speech to bolster your argument in any way.
Funny. When you are an idiot and support Palestinian you deserve to be black listed.
Just now need to black list the colleges that also support this crap. Would be a step in the right direction.
Discuss...
Enable JavaScript to submit a comment.