The double standards of free speech on Palestine amid Israel’s war on Gaza

[Ohlalalalala]

On UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Dima Khalidi, director of Palestine Legal, and Ilan Pappe, renowned author and professor of history at Exeter University, about the limits to free speech on the Israel-Gaza war.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/program/upfront/2023/10/27/the-double-standards-of-free-speech-on-palestine

As the war in Gaza continues, why is the West cracking down on free speech?
A battle is playing out in the realm of public opinion on Israel’s war on Gaza.

While demonstrations have taken place across the globe in solidarity with Palestinians, there have been campaigns to silence critics of Israel’s actions.

Commentators, academics and even common citizens have reported increasing threats and retaliation for expressing their views or voicing solidarity with the Palestinian people, often in countries that proclaim to uphold values of freedom of expression and democracy.

Quite.
@SolomonEdGrundy

My 'opinion'.
There needs to be some thought on how to reach extremists on all sides.
How were they radicalised? How can they be persuaded that perpetuating that conflict will forever be harmful to them and those they love?
Others have linked to organisations working towards this.

Give them peaceful purpose and turn our attentions to those at the top manipulating them.

There's generations of hatred on both sides I think. Instead of harking back to history and who owned what, I think it would be better to start over in a spirit of peace, but that feels 1000 years away at the moment.

Instead of harking back to history and who owned what, I think it would be better to start over in a spirit of peace, but that feels 1000 years away at the moment.

I get your thinking, but how would you square that with things like apologies and reparations to the descendants of victims of slavery, centuries later? Do you think this is a bad thing? And if not, how would you differentiate between people, possessions and homelands in history?

I don't believe in reparation

I do believe in trying to enable equality now which isn't quite the same

So I guess that's consistent with a peace process that is forward looking not backwards

So all the people currently holding ceasefire placards outside the Ministries in Israel and Netanyahu's house are antisemitic? The 'Israelis for ceasefire' ones specifically. The ones saying it in Hebrew, they are all antisemitic?

Bloody brave people if you ask me. The very best of humanity. Willing to set aside feelings of revenge and anger for all people.

That's awful @SolomonEdGrundy

I don't believe in reparation

I do believe in trying to enable equality now which isn't quite the same

So I guess that's consistent with a peace process that is forward looking not backwards

So how would we organise that, then? Quite a challenge! Would we have to start all over again and then give everybody an equal share of something, regardless of what they had before?

Would we only do it in areas with disputed land or other disagreements? Or would we start all over again and re-allocate the whole world so that each country had exactly the same area each, or otherwise the same amount of land allocated per inhabitant? And how would you judge which land areas are more desirable or useful?

@SolomonEdGrundy

Wow, so some of the worst anti-Semitic attacks of all seem to be coming from people using believed anti-Semitism against them as justification?!

A non-Jew can wheel out a tired verbal stereotype against a Jewish person as they pass them in the street and be anti-Semitic (not saying they aren't); but a Jew can physically attack another Jew for being 'the wrong kind of Jew' and THEY believe that THEY are the victim of an anti-Semitic attack and the one in the right?!

Really interesting posts here.

I saw the video the other day and I was so shocked by such uncalled for brutality!😡

Fatherjack

It means you don't let anything stand in your way to tackle the crisis

It means you don't let whataboutary distract from the problems at hand

It doesn't mean you stop doing things that help communities that still suffer from the effects of slavery and racism

It does mean yes you start with any major dispute - if the discussions process in the region hadn't ground to a halt about 8 years ago we might not be in this situation now

WHY DO UK MEDIA INSIST PALESTINIANS CONDEMN HAMAS BUT NOT THAT ISRAELIS CONDEMN ISRAEL?

https://www.declassifieduk.org/why-do-uk-media-insist-palestinians-condemn-hamas-but-not-that-israelis-condemn-israel/

@SolomonEdGrundy why did mn delete several posts of yours upthread?

I don't insist anyone condemn anyone. We are a free country. I don't see MN stopping anti Israel comments and I often feel a sole voice here as a supporter of Israel. I see free speech prevail. On the Financial Times website because they are mostly fairly woke left, they won't let readers comment at all - presumably because their writers would cry if they heard someone supporting Israel. The left are torn in two over this issue too but not an issue for me as a Tory voter. We have seen a lot of marches and nothing like as much from the pro Israel side. I hope all sides can continue to act largely within the law in the UK but I do want stricter laws stopping people blocking roads (for whatever grounds that might be) and that kind of thing . I am against the new laws stopping protests at abortion clinics as that is too close to where women are dealing with difficult things.

🤬🤬 The media bias is so nakedly transparent. It's a deliberate tool used in order to paint anyone who doesn't immediately clearly and loudly condemn as being a terrorist sympathiser and to dehumanise Palestinians further.

Funnily enough it's usually asked of mainly Brown people, I wonder why 🤔

The righteous indignation expressed by this gentleman sums it quite well:
https://x.com/sofearozaidi_/status/1721139049338134913?s=20

If you believe that 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter', then you are arguing that something being terrorism, is really just a matter of opinion. One perspective.

If you also think that if any State was involved in "state terrorism", then you need to pause and reflect on how your terrorist/freedom fighter idea, somewhat undermines your accusation regarding "state terrorism".

If 'terrorism' is, as you say, really just a matter of opinion, then your accusation about state terrorism is just an expression of your opinion. If it's just an opinion, then other opinions are available and just as valid. It would seem that some advocates of the "state terrorism" school of thought, have a bit of a problem. 🤷‍♂️

At any rate, PIRA was an illegal organisation on both sides of the border since they posed a threat to both Sovereign Governments. Absolutely not "freedom fighters".

Ahhhhhh @BelleHathor thanks for raising my blood pressure 😡 Unbelievable! Thank God I've never watched that channel, and never will.

FFS there's not even an attempt to hide the racism.

@Ohlalalalala It just perfectly encapsulates what a lot of the media are asking of anyone deemed to be "Pro" Palestinian aka against the indiscriminate killing and collective punishment of civilians.
Another one I heard was on Andrew Castle on LBC asking a lot if his Muslim callers to condemn Hamas.
https://x.com/Natasha_KC1/status/1718186498955046993?s=20

Masks are fully off! It's basically saying all you people look the same. The funny thing he sounds like a typical West London man.
To think Esther Mcvey used to be a serving MP...