Intimidation, doxing, blacklists, cancellations. In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, a wave of extreme intolerance towards speech critical of Israel and supportive of Palestine has swept across cultural and educational institutions. In the United States and Europe, students and professors are being penalized, writers canceled, and artists censored for expressing views critical of the Israeli government’s actions.
At New York University, the president of the student bar association was removed from the position after issuing a statement of support for Palestine, and their post-graduate employment offer at a law firm was promptly rescinded. Elsewhere, student protests at universities have been met with hostility and reflexively labeled antisemitic.
Faculty members who support Palestinian human rights or have Middle Eastern backgrounds are especially vulnerable to the current intolerance. A Stanford University instructor was recently suspended from teaching while the school reviews how he approached a classroom discussion about the conflict. Other professors have been condemned by their institutions (Cornell); placed on leave (Emory) or removed from editorial responsibilities (Michael Eisen/eLife) because of political comments they made or shared on social media. In contrast, student group petitions to fire an Israeli adjunct professor for publishing online a satirical video about what she sees as the academic…
