© Facebook
Pro-Israel stand in front of pro-Palestinian students during protest at the University of California, Berkeley, March 2016.
Activists for Palestinian rights have long known that our universities are overwhelmingly-hostile environments where freedom of speech about, and critical inquiry into, Israel's oppressive policies are heavily censored. The mainstreaming of BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) and the growing support this grassroots movement is gaining have had the effect of increasing, rather than alleviating, university administrators' clamping down on support for Palestinian rights.
Over the past few weeks, two separate and noteworthy incidents have illustrated this heavy-handed approach. And while these incidents are particularly outrageous, they are not exceptional, but rather indicative of the overall climate of political repression that continues to blanket the nation.
On Thursday, Feb. 23, in an egregious twist to a still-unfolding story, Fordham University student Sapphira Lurie received a "disciplinary reprimand" by Dean of Students Keith Eldredge, in what the advocacy organization Palestine Legal has described as a "
pre-determined outcome."
Lurie, a senior at Fordham, had been found in violation of her school's "demonstration policy" when she participated in a Jan. 23 rally protesting the dean's decision to deny her request to start a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine on her campus. That decision, as well as the charge, was condemned by civil rights groups as a violation of the school's free speech and association policies.
Comment: See also: