Free speech

MEP Rima Hassan during the European Parliament Plenary, September 2024. (The Left/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Rima Hassan is breaking Europe’s Palestine taboos. France put her on trial

Prosecuted for defending Palestinians’ right to resist, the MEP says Gaza has exposed a ‘complete divorce’ between governments and their publics.

By Liam Syed July 16, 2026

Students from inside the gates of Columbia University wave Palestinian flags through the bars, April 22, 2024. (SWinxy/Wikimedia Commons)

Mahmoud Khalil’s abduction is a fascist move — and universities must respond

Schools across the United States have a choice: defend their students against Trump or be complicit in his crimes.

By Dima Khalidi March 11, 2025

Heavily-armed police seen during the pro-Palestinian protests in Washington, July 24, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

‘The pump is primed to suppress Palestine advocacy. Trump just has to let it flow’

A new book lays out how Israel exported its crackdown on Palestinian activism and helped trample free speech in the U.S., explains co-editor Zaha Hassan.

By Jonathan Adler February 17, 2025

Latest

Protest against the German Bundestag’s resolution against the Palestinian-led BDS Movement, Berlin, 2019. (Palästina Spricht archives)

IHRA definition is silencing Palestine advocacy across Europe, says report

A European legal center details how the IHRA antisemitism definition has been given 'authoritative power' to target Israel critics in several countries.

By Hebh Jamal June 7, 2023

Palestinians and left-wing activists protest during the Friday weekly demonstration in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Jerusalem, February 18, 2022. (Oren Ziv/Activestills

Meta’s clampdown on Palestine speech is far from ‘unintentional’

A report on the social media giant validated Palestinian experiences of censorship in May 2021, but missed how those policies are biased by design.

By Marwa Fatafta October 9, 2022

The Deutsche Welle office in Bonn, Germany, September 1, 2014. (Christian Wolf/CC BY-SA 3.0 DE)

German broadcaster requires employees to ‘support Israel’s right to exist’

Deutsche Welle's new code of conduct marks the latest Israel-related crackdown on free speech in German public life.

By Hebh Jamal September 8, 2022

(Center left to right) Sachiel Rosen, Hassani Bell, Ahkeel Mestayer, and Julia Retzlaff, four students referred to as the Third World Liberation Front 2016, who were on a hunger strike to defend the funding of the San Francisco State College of Ethnic Studies, raise their joined hands during an emergency press conference in the Quad, May 9, 2016. (Melissa Minton/CC BY 2.0)

How anti-BDS laws paved the way for the assault on critical race theory

Right-wing groups are using similar tactics to silence progressive views on U.S. racism and Israel. So why are many American Jews only opposing the former?

By Abe Asher October 13, 2021

Protest by Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley, Sep. 23, 2014. (Ariel Hayat/Flickr)

False charges of antisemitism are the vanguard of cancel culture

The right is voicing alarm over progressive views restricting free speech, but says nothing about how antisemitism is weaponized to quash speech on Israel.

By Mairav Zonszein July 28, 2020

Entance of the Ethical Culture School (Fieldston) in New York. (Eden, Janine, and Jim/Flickr)

New York high school sparks public storm over free speech on Israel

The firing of a teacher in an elite private school is part of a significant rise in incidents targeting pro-Palestine speech in secondary education.

By Mairav Zonszein January 26, 2020

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during the 2017 Invictus Games opening ceremonies in Toronto, Canada Sept. 23, 2017. (EJ Hersom)

Even with a liberal government, Canada disregards Palestinian rights

Canada presents itself as a bastion of liberalism. Why are Palestinians left out of its vision?

By Dalya Al Masri December 20, 2019

Israeli security forces take position to protect Jewish visitors as they make their way to visit a Jewish religious site in the West Bank city of Hebron, November 3, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Why are foreign lawmakers aiding Israel’s attacks on Palestinian rights?

Two resolutions passed by the French parliament and U.S. Congress last week have troubling implications for Palestinians and their allies.

By Amjad Iraqi December 13, 2019

Batya Ungar-Sargon speaking at a conference on racism and anti-Semitism at Bard College.

Reckless charges of anti-Semitism endanger Palestinians

The baseless claims made by The Forward’s Batya Ungar-Sargon at Bard College last week feed the dysfunction of the American debate on Israel-Palestine, making it more difficult for Palestinians and their allies to advocate for their rights. In a strange public controversy last week, Batya Ungar-Sargon, the Opinion Editor at The Forward, published a column claiming that…

By Amjad Iraqi October 16, 2019

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit a memorial outside the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh Tuesday, October 30, 2018, following the mass shooting that left 11 worshippers dead. (Andrea Hanks/White House)

Over 100 Jewish scholars condemn Trump admin for exploiting anti-Semitism

More than 100 Jewish academics sign open letter demanding the Trump administration stop exploiting anti-Semitism in order to quash criticism of Israel on college campuses. Jewish academics are fighting back against the Trump administration’s attempts to silence criticism of Israel on college campuses. More than 100 Jewish scholars have signed an open letter to the U.S. Department…

By Joshua Leifer October 6, 2019