26, December 2018 Free speech under assault
In yet another assault on America’s bedrock principles of
freedom of speech and political dissent, a new legislative proposal would
impose severe civil and criminal penalties on US companies that participate in
the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS) supporting Palestinian
rights opposing Israel’s policies and the occupation of the West Bank.
Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University and a
contributing commentator at CNN, spoke at the United Nations commemorating the 70th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights in support of Palestinian
Rights and a free Palestine. CNN
immediately fired him for his comments.
His call for a single state where all citizens could enjoy the same
rights with their Jewish brothers and sisters was interpreted as a dog whistle
for violence and a direct threat to the very existence of Israel.
CNN’s action makes a complete mockery of their claim to be
“fair and balanced”. Jewish Voice for Peace
excoriated CNN’s actions for silencing Dr. Hill while allowing Rick Santorum to
vent his racist claims that there are 'no “Palestinians in the West Bank!”
As a
further example of Israel’s reach, a long time Palestinian-American
speech pathologist in Austin, Texas lost her job after failing to take an oath
of allegiance to Israel.
An increasing number of American Jews oppose the occupation
of the West Bank and refuse to buy products of the settlements in the occupied
territories. Their right to protest in this way must be vigorously defended.
As Michael Bloomberg's famously said, “if you want to go to
a university where the government decides what kind of subjects are fit for
discussion, I suggest you apply to a school in North Korea.”
Combat veterans who recently spent an extended visit to
Israel were appalled what they saw. They witnessed daily degradation,
intimidation, and abuse of the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation
forces. If the American people, and especially our politicians, were able to
spend any time in Palestine, and witness the truth for themselves, America's
blind allegiance to Israel would come to an end. In the meantime more and more
of our tax dollars are being squandered propping up an apartheid Israel.
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