This is not education. It's the institutionalization of slander, and it pressures Jewish students to redefine — or abandon — their identity to survive.
I used to be a member of FIRE until I noticed how often they were at the forefront of defenders for the likes of Khalil. When I contacted them they insisted that they defend both sides but when I examined their website not a single student (Jewish or non) was being defended. Only the aggressors. I left the group.
Agreed, I followed and respected them for the last 18 or so months but it's becoming undeniable now that they're bullshit: somehow, they don't understand what "free speech" actually means since none of these deportations have anything to do with it. Guess they thought attaching themselves to this would attract attention to themselves.
I’m an attorney at FIRE. The reason is that we’re not getting many cases of universities silencing Jewish or pro-Israel student speech. (When there are cases, we defend them. See the recent case of Davidson College going after YAF for a pro-Israel pamphlet.) But the problem for Jewish students is not universities trying to silence them, but universities’ unwillingness to protect them from other students by enforcing their legitimate neutral rules on the protesters. The double standard in favor of the pro-Palestinian view is very real, but the conduct of the sides is not equivalent. The reason universities aren’t going after students shouting “bomb Gaza” on campus is because no one is actually saying that or anything else even remotely similar to the rhetoric you hear from SJP. (Historically too, most cases of Jewish students being silenced have involved other students, not administrators, trying to silence them merely for being pro-Israel, not b/c they ever said anything mean or hateful.) I know I’ve told reporters many times over the past 1.5 years that there was a big problem w/ universities not enforcing neutral rules governing time, place, & manner of speech on campus protesters, or even enforcing rules against assault and intimidation. All of that stuff is not only not free speech, it’s anti-free speech because it intimidates others from speaking. (Which is the point.) And it’s created an environment on campuses that is so hostile that I think many Jewish & pro-Israel students aren’t even attempting to speak up anymore. (Also, SJP tries to shut down any event or speaker that is anything less than vehemently anti-Israel. Every time that happens, we go after the universities for not securing the event & removing the protesters.)
Jessie, I am glad to hear that. I have been quite disturbed that FIRE's public comments which appear to have focused only the so-called free speech rights of people who are not citizens or who use free speech to deprive others of the individual liberties.
Thank you for the article. America is sending military muscle over to Israel as we discuss. That and deporting some anti semites and defunding liberal universities is a good start.
They are not’free speech absolutests’ .. because the very same people were all about punishing people for saying the wrong thing including‘micro aggressions’, or things that require 6 degrees of interpretation to suggest some kind of insult or bias occurred..
So it’s kind of an important point that this isn’t at all about free speech rights, and whether or not those rights are applicable or being violated.. oh no; what it’s about is a double standard applied to Jews.. with regard to speech, and much much more.
None of these fascists believe in absolute free speech. First of all they all believe that speech they dislike which includes mainstream conservative thought and of course Zionism should be banned and of course shouting down others rioting and intimidating isn't free speech at all.
I used to be on Gab which prided itself on free speech, and there would be the odd racist comment but they paled into insignificance compared with the anti Jew crowd. I would say that it is the same on most antisocial media platforms even Substack has more antisemitism than outright racism.
Hello from Redhill, Surrey, England. Very good article. Something similar is happening in the UK. Our Universities are infested with this ghastly progressive nonsense. Although of course it isn’t‘progressive’ at all, it’s repressive, because it denies and does not allow people to speak out against it, well they can but at a price. Their positions.
When you push freedom of speech to violence, murder and genocide accompanied by obvious slander and libel you have broken the common acceptance of freedom. Just as the Second Amendment is the right to own and bear arms, it is not meant to cover intentional homicide. The people know when the law has been broken and abused even if college administrators and judges don't. When the people no longer stand behind the law, law is useless. The responsibility of maintaining the Republic and its just law is the duty of the citizen.
If Zionists agree to smash trans ideology (even though it’s found in the Talmud) and eliminate the progressive leftist cult by calculated effort, I’ll look the other way on all the war crimes and be team Zionist from now on.
War crimes? You're believing terrorist propaganda. Read the facts from the best military minds who state the lowest civilian-to-terrorist death rate EVEN with Hamas using civilians as human shields and inflating death numbers (they include Hamas with "civilian" deaths in the count, too. Not a single one listed as Hamas). And they put military in the schools and hospitals, forcing Israel to bomb them. I could go on, but it would be nice if you would research yourself. from other sources other than haters.
This was a pleasure to read. Your arguments are well-developed, some of your metaphors are exquisite, and your excessive use of hyperbole marks you as a man after mine own heart.
I used to be a member of FIRE until I noticed how often they were at the forefront of defenders for the likes of Khalil. When I contacted them they insisted that they defend both sides but when I examined their website not a single student (Jewish or non) was being defended. Only the aggressors. I left the group.
Agreed, I followed and respected them for the last 18 or so months but it's becoming undeniable now that they're bullshit: somehow, they don't understand what "free speech" actually means since none of these deportations have anything to do with it. Guess they thought attaching themselves to this would attract attention to themselves.
I've been tempted to leave them as well over this issue.
I’m an attorney at FIRE. The reason is that we’re not getting many cases of universities silencing Jewish or pro-Israel student speech. (When there are cases, we defend them. See the recent case of Davidson College going after YAF for a pro-Israel pamphlet.) But the problem for Jewish students is not universities trying to silence them, but universities’ unwillingness to protect them from other students by enforcing their legitimate neutral rules on the protesters. The double standard in favor of the pro-Palestinian view is very real, but the conduct of the sides is not equivalent. The reason universities aren’t going after students shouting “bomb Gaza” on campus is because no one is actually saying that or anything else even remotely similar to the rhetoric you hear from SJP. (Historically too, most cases of Jewish students being silenced have involved other students, not administrators, trying to silence them merely for being pro-Israel, not b/c they ever said anything mean or hateful.) I know I’ve told reporters many times over the past 1.5 years that there was a big problem w/ universities not enforcing neutral rules governing time, place, & manner of speech on campus protesters, or even enforcing rules against assault and intimidation. All of that stuff is not only not free speech, it’s anti-free speech because it intimidates others from speaking. (Which is the point.) And it’s created an environment on campuses that is so hostile that I think many Jewish & pro-Israel students aren’t even attempting to speak up anymore. (Also, SJP tries to shut down any event or speaker that is anything less than vehemently anti-Israel. Every time that happens, we go after the universities for not securing the event & removing the protesters.)
Jessie, I am glad to hear that. I have been quite disturbed that FIRE's public comments which appear to have focused only the so-called free speech rights of people who are not citizens or who use free speech to deprive others of the individual liberties.
Scratch a progressive and you will find an anti-Semite.
The essay sets forth a compelling case for deporting Khalil under the apppicable law
Thank you for the article. America is sending military muscle over to Israel as we discuss. That and deporting some anti semites and defunding liberal universities is a good start.
You’re missing something kind of important here.
They are not’free speech absolutests’ .. because the very same people were all about punishing people for saying the wrong thing including‘micro aggressions’, or things that require 6 degrees of interpretation to suggest some kind of insult or bias occurred..
So it’s kind of an important point that this isn’t at all about free speech rights, and whether or not those rights are applicable or being violated.. oh no; what it’s about is a double standard applied to Jews.. with regard to speech, and much much more.
None of these fascists believe in absolute free speech. First of all they all believe that speech they dislike which includes mainstream conservative thought and of course Zionism should be banned and of course shouting down others rioting and intimidating isn't free speech at all.
Doug our Supreme Court has ruled that no in/unalienable right is absolute. If they were I’d carry an fn P90 under my coat instead of a smith & wesson.
I used to be on Gab which prided itself on free speech, and there would be the odd racist comment but they paled into insignificance compared with the anti Jew crowd. I would say that it is the same on most antisocial media platforms even Substack has more antisemitism than outright racism.
It’s the racism everyone can agree on!/s
Thank you.
Excellent. Thank you.
Great piece
Hello from Redhill, Surrey, England. Very good article. Something similar is happening in the UK. Our Universities are infested with this ghastly progressive nonsense. Although of course it isn’t‘progressive’ at all, it’s repressive, because it denies and does not allow people to speak out against it, well they can but at a price. Their positions.
When you push freedom of speech to violence, murder and genocide accompanied by obvious slander and libel you have broken the common acceptance of freedom. Just as the Second Amendment is the right to own and bear arms, it is not meant to cover intentional homicide. The people know when the law has been broken and abused even if college administrators and judges don't. When the people no longer stand behind the law, law is useless. The responsibility of maintaining the Republic and its just law is the duty of the citizen.
If Zionists agree to smash trans ideology (even though it’s found in the Talmud) and eliminate the progressive leftist cult by calculated effort, I’ll look the other way on all the war crimes and be team Zionist from now on.
Huh? All the gay Arabs live in Israel so what are you talking about? And we do not commit war crimes.
War crimes? You're believing terrorist propaganda. Read the facts from the best military minds who state the lowest civilian-to-terrorist death rate EVEN with Hamas using civilians as human shields and inflating death numbers (they include Hamas with "civilian" deaths in the count, too. Not a single one listed as Hamas). And they put military in the schools and hospitals, forcing Israel to bomb them. I could go on, but it would be nice if you would research yourself. from other sources other than haters.
Get lost jerk.
Seriously, this is the only response he's worth. Bravo.
This was a pleasure to read. Your arguments are well-developed, some of your metaphors are exquisite, and your excessive use of hyperbole marks you as a man after mine own heart.
Let me stir the pot - apartheid is starting to appear to have been very reasonable, considering what grew up after its departure (in South Africa).
You might find interesting my postings about academic responses to what you are discussing here.