California State Assembly Seeks to Stifle Debate on Israel

Swills · Sep 9, 2012

Stephen Zunes: California State Assembly Seeks to Stifle Debate on Israel | Huff Post

The California State Assembly has just passed a bipartisan resolution (HR 35) by voice vote which constitutes a serious attack on academic freedom and the rights of students and faculty to raise awareness about human rights abuses by U.S.-backed governments. While purporting to put the legislature on record in opposition of anti-Semitism on state university campuses, it defines anti-Semitism so widely as to include legitimate political activities in opposition to Israeli government policies.

The resolution was opposed by a wide variety of groups, including the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Asian Law Caucus, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, yet the Republican-sponsored measure received wide bipartisan support in the Democratic-controlled legislature.

The non-binding resolution -- which was sponsored by 66 of the 88 members of the lower house -- demands that what it calls "anti-Semitic activity" should "not be tolerated in the classroom or on campus, and that no public resources be allowed to be used for anti-Semitic or intolerant agitation."

The resolution lists a number of examples of genuine anti-Semitic activities, such as painting swastikas outside Hillel offices. However, much of the text is focused upon criticism of the state of Israel. Among the examples given of "anti-Semitic activities" included in the resolution are:

• Accusations that the Israeli government is guilty of "crimes against humanity"
This would mean that a speaker from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other reputable human rights groups which have documented such violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli Defense Forces could not be provided space or honoraria to talk about their research.

• Accusations that Israel has engaged in "ethnic cleansing"
This would mean that Israeli scholars who have studied and published documents from Israeli archives pertaining to the 1947-49 conflict in Israel/Palestine which demonstrate that there was a calculated policy of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian population in some regions, would similarly be barred.

• "Student and faculty-sponsored boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel"

This would prohibit efforts to boycott goods made in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, support international sanctions on Israel over its ongoing violations of a series of UN Security Council resolution, or have the university divest from its endowment stock in companies supporting the Israeli occupation.

The resolution also declares a number of other political activities that, while clearly objectionable -- such as disrupting a speech by a supporter of the Israeli government -- as "anti-Semitic," based on the assumption that hostility toward such a speaker is not based on opposition to policies of Israel's right-wing government, but because the country is Jewish.

Indeed, throughout the resolution, opposition to Israeli government policies is equated with bigotry towards Jews. There's no question that some pro-Palestinian activists do sometimes cross the line into what could reasonably be called anti-Semitism, which should indeed be categorically condemned, as should all manifestation of prejudice. Unfortunately, this resolution makes no distinction between this tiny bigoted minority and the majority of activists who oppose the Israeli occupation and other policies of that country's right-wing government on legitimate human rights grounds.

Not only does this constitute an attack on academic freedom, it compromises legitimate efforts against the scourge of anti-Semitism which -- while not as widespread a phenomenon on California campuses as the resolution implies -- is still very real.

College campuses, particularly those in California's large public university systems, have long been a center of agitation for human rights and in opposition to U.S. policies which support violations of human rights, whether it be the war in Vietnam, investment in apartheid South Africa, intervention in Central America or support for Israel's wars and occupation.

This bipartisan effort appears to be an attempt to stifle this tradition. Indeed, if the California state legislature succeeds in shutting down debate regarding U.S. policy toward Israel and its neighbors, it will only be a matter of time before debate on other aspects of U.S. foreign policy will be suppressed as well.
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The Cali bill, HR 35 Assembly House Resolution - AMENDED

BILL NUMBER: HR 35\tAMENDED
\tBILL TEXT

\tAMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2012

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Halderman and Bonnie
Lowenthal and Bonnie Lowenthal
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Beall,
Block, Blumenfield, Butler, Cook,
Fong, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto,
Gordon, Hagman, Mansoor, Miller,
Monning, Portantino, and Williams)

AUGUST 6, 2012

Relative to anti-Semitism.

\tLEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST

WHEREAS, The frequency and severity of incidents of contemporary
global anti-Semitism are increasing according to reports by
representatives from nations around the world, including the United
States Department of State in 2008, the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe in 2004, and the Inter-parliamentary
Coalition for Combating Antisemitism in 2009; and

WHEREAS, On July 20, 2009, the United States Senate unanimously
approved a resolution that unequivocally condemns all forms of
anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to rationalize anti-Jewish hatred
or attacks as a justifiable expression of disaffection or frustration
over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere, and decries
the comparison of Jews to Nazis perpetrating the Holocaust or
genocide as a pernicious form of anti-Semitism; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of State, the United Kingdom'
s All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-semitism

Antisemitism , and the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe have adopted or endorsed the European
Union Agency for Fundamental Rights' working definition of
anti-Semitism, which notes that in context certain language or
behavior demonizes and delegitimizes Israel or attacks Israel with
classic anti-Semitic stereotypes, such as denying the Jewish people
their right to self-determination, applying double standards by
requiring of Israel a behavior not expected or demanded of any other
democratic nation, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli police
to that of the Nazis, and accusing the Jewish people, or Israel, of
inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; and (see link for good time)
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Related articles,

California Assemblywoman Targets Anti-Israel Campus Activism, Or: Five Criticisms of Israel that Are Inherently Not Anti-Semitic

The echo chamber of campus anti-Semitism

U.S. Muslim lobby fights measure to protect Jews

NasaJoe · Sep 9, 2012

"Student and faculty-sponsored boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel"

This would prohibit efforts to boycott goods made in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, support international sanctions on Israel over its ongoing violations of a series of UN Security Council resolution, or have the university divest from its endowment stock in companies supporting the Israeli occupation.
Click to expand...

It's like a blueprint of what pisses them off the most..

Swills · Sep 9, 2012

we mustn't speak of such things....

xmaspoo · Sep 9, 2012

If you wanna know who's pulling the strings then look to those whom it's not deemed fashionable to criticize.

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