Gaza First Amendment Alert
Students protest despite backlash, terror sanctions placed on grassroots group, universities cause protesters to lose visas, and Harvard says...no studying in the library?
We’ve begun a new initiative at Defending Rights & Dissent: the Gaza First Amendment Alert. As a tidal wave of repression hits pro-Palestine activism and advocacy, we’ll keep you up to date, with posts every other Wednesday.
In Spite of Backlash, Students Protest on Anniversary of War
The one year anniversary of October 7 became a flashpoint for campus free speech, as many pro-Palestine students wanted to organize protests against a war increasingly viewed as a genocide and mourn the victims in Gaza. Supporters of Israel argued holding protests on the October 7 anniversary “desecrated” the memory of Israeli civilian victims of the Hamas-led attack on Israel, constituted support for “terrorism,” or that political speech threatened safety. While many readers of this newsletter likely reject pro-Israel organizations’ and politicians’ more inflammatory characterizations of the protesters’ views and motives, from a First Amendment standpoint they simply don’t matter. Nonetheless, they served as the underlying rationale for an organized effort to suppress speech on that day.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the leading proponents of silencing pro-Palestinian voices on US campuses, sent a September 18 letter to university and college presidents urging them to implement plans for October 7 that included “how (and whether) requests to demonstrate, protest or hold vigils on October 7 will be granted” and to “coordinate with local law enforcement and ensure any violations of rules governing campus activities and protests are enforced immediately.” The letter warned that while education institutions value free speech, “the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has continually underscored that even protected speech can contribute to a hostile environment.”
Following the letter, the ADL used its “Campus Crisis Alert” daily newsletter, whose subscribers include the Chicago Police Department, to repeatedly fearmonger about the protesters and urge readers to contact their respective universities. ADL’s sample email warned that Students for Justice in Palestine was planning to hold protests and “may invite highly controversial speakers” to campus, as well as “alarming” but unspecified reports that there may be encampments, mock checkpoints, and other disruptive protests. The sample email also noted “Even peaceful protests that comply with campus guidelines may be traumatic for Jewish communities on campus, who view this as a day of mourning” and warned that while free speech was important to colleges, they had to implement “concrete steps now to prevent our campus from becoming a hostile environment.”
The intent of this campaign was on full display when the ADL took partial credit for getting an interfaith vigil at University of Maryland organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace canceled. In fact, the entire University of Maryland system imposed a blanket prohibition of non-school initiated expressive activity on October 7. This ran blatantly afoul of the First Amendment and was reversed by a federal court. In spite of immense fear mongering, the vigil took place with hundreds of students participating. It was an entirely peaceful and non-disruptive event honoring Palestinian civilians who died in Gaza.
Columbia University has been a particularly fraught campus for free speech. In advance of news that Students for Justice in Palestine, still banned on Columbia’s campus, would stage a walkout, the school’s interim president sent an email warning that the event was not registered with the school nor was it in compliance with campus expression policies. An administrator at the law school encouraged professors to call campus security on disruptive protesters.
At the University of Michigan, one person was arrested on October 7 at a protest of 200 to 250 people against the war. Leaked audio of University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono reveals her stating the federal government is pressuring her to prioritize combating anti-semitism over Islamophobia.
Terror Sanctions Placed on Grassroots Group
On October 15, the Treasury Department announced that the Office of Foreign Assets Control was applying sanctions to the grassroots organization Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. The US government claims Samidoun is “a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.” This move means the assets are frozen and it is illegal for US persons to conduct financial transactions with them. Non-US financial institutions run the risk of being subject to sanctions if they conduct transactions with Samidoun.
The US coordinated this move with the Canadian government. Samidoun and its US-fiscal sponsor, Alliance for Global Justice, have been longtime targets of pro-Israel groups and congress members. Alliance for Global Justice previously had its ability to process credit card donations blocked by private companies after pro-Israel groups complained about their fiscal sponsorship of Samidoun. Such sanctions have in the past been used to shut down humanitarian aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The full ramifications of this move is not as yet clear, but it is bound to have a chilling effect.
No Studying in the Library?
Colleges and universities across the country have engaged in heavy handed overreactions to student speech in support of Palestine. But one of the most absurd examples we’ve encountered at Defending Rights & Dissent is Harvard’s reaction to a “study-in.” After Israel bombed Lebanon, pro-Palestine students held a “study-in” at the library. What’s a study-in? The students silently studied in the library while wearing keffiyehs or having signs with political messages tapped to their laptops. By all accounts, the study-in was non-disruptive. And yet Harvard suspended the students from using the library for two weeks.
Schools Are Relying on US Immigration Policy to Silence Student Protesters
Students protesting against the war in Gaza or their colleges’ investment in Israel have faced retaliation from school administrations. International students have faced unique risks. Cornell University threatened Momodou Taal, a graduate student, with deportation from the US after suspension from the university. Cornell has implemented a draconian “expression policy” that bans amplified sound and even candles (a clear attempt to stop candlelight vigils for the victims of the war). Taal participated in a protest against weapons contractors at a career fair. Cornell claims a campus police offer was pushed during the protest. Taal denies this and states pro-Palestinian students are being discriminatorily targeted under the expression policy. As a student on a F-1 visa, this made him subject to deportation from the US. When Taal informed administration officials of this, they sent him a shockingly callous, tone deaf email.
Taal’s case has attracted national outrage. And the Cornell graduate student union is supporting Taal, rallying against his suspension and criticizing the lack of due process. After condemnation from students, faculty, and others across the nation, Cornell finally reversed course at the last minute.
While Taal ultimately prevailed, not everyone has been so lucky. Joseph Charry was suspended from the University of South Florida for participating in divestment protests. Due to his suspension, he has lost his visa and was forced to return home to Colombia.
Israel Continues Attacks on Journalism with Killings, Maimings, and Arrests
On Sunday October 6, Israeli artillery fired into the bedroom of Hassan Hamad, a 19-year old Palestinian journalist. Hamad had received a series of threatening messages from an Israeli number to his WhatsApp warning him that he or his family would be killed if he didn’t cease reporting. Hamad had survived multiple Israeli attacks, including a drone strike earlier that day and being fired at by a quadcopter. Witnesses told Middle East Eye that Israel directly fired artillery into Hamad’s bedroom and were clearly targeting him.
On October 9, 2024, Israel attacked multiple journalists in Gaza during its assault on the Jabaliya refugee camp. Israel killed Al-Aqsa TV cameraman Mohamed al-Tanani and injured another Al-Aqsa journalist, Tamer Labad. In a separate attack, an Israeli quadcopter drone fired on a group of journalists, leaving Al Jazeera photojournalist Fadi al-Wahidi a quadriplegic after he was shot in the neck while wearing his press vest. Al Jazeera maintains Israel deliberatelytargeted the journalists.
While Israel was killing and maiming Palestinian journalists in Gaza, it arrested US journalist Jeremy Loffredo in Israel. Loffredo is accused of “aiding the enemy” for defying Israeli military censors to report on damage caused by Iranian missile strikes. Although a judge ordered him released from detention, he remains charged. Loffredo is barred from leaving the country and Israel has seized his cellphone and passport. Press freedom and free expression groups, including Defending Rights & Dissent, have called on the US State Department to secure his full freedom. The State Department has publicly stated consular staff has visited Loffredo.
Israel’s war in Gaza has been the deadliest war on record for journalists. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate puts the number of journalists killed at 152. A number of journalists, like Hamad, clearly have been directly targeted for assassination. Earlier this year, Defending Rights & Dissent initiated a call from over 100 journalists, 20 news outlets, and 7 press freedom groups for Secretary Blinken to impose an arms embargo on Israel in light of its deliberate killing of Palestinian journalists.
Investigative Journalists Shine Light on State Department Role in the War
Multiple investigative outlets have shined light on the internal workings of the State Department’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza. The image that has emerged is disturbing. On September 24, ProPublica published a lengthy exposeéon how U.S. Agency for International Development and State Department experts independently concluded Israel was blocking US humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Under US law, a country that blocks US humanitarian assistance cannot receive US military aid. State Department higher ups rejected the findings for what appear to be transparently political reasons. Secretary of State Antony Blinken even told Congress Israel was not blocking aid. Since ProPublica published the piece, there have been calls for Blinken to resign, be impeached, or even face prosecution.
On October 4, ProPublica filed a second report, this time exploring “the State Department’s weapons pipeline to Israel.” Internally, some State Department personnel have pushed for a partial or total suspension of military aid to Israel because US weapons are brazenly being used to commit human rights abuses and war crimes. Such efforts have been rejected by Secretary Blinken and US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew. One former official told ProPublica the State Department has an unwritten policy of protecting Israel from scrutiny at any cost. ProPublica also revealed that Israel sent a case of wine to State Department employees working on arms transfers as thanks.
And on October 6, DropSite News had a disturbing story about how, when Blinken traveled to Israel after October 7, he personally participated in drawing up an Israeli policy on when Israel can bomb humanitarian aid convoys in Gaza.