Gaza war’s spillover effects on American academic freedom

Israel’s war on Gaza has had a devastating effect on free speech around the world, but especially in the US. Academic freedom is imperiled at college campuses across the country because of restrictions on views opposed to the war. This has had a chilling effect on the public debate about the war, with many expressing fears of a new form of McCarthyism on campus, fueled by traditional and social media and by politicians in the heightened climate of US elections.

At the US Congress grilling of prominent university administrators, the harsh rhetoric used by some members of Congress reinforced those fears of a new McCarthy-like witch hunt. They were fiercely scolded for not doing enough to curb anti-Israel criticism. Following their public humiliation, the presidents of Harvard and Pennsylvania universities were subsequently forced to resign.

Censure of those deviating from the official Israeli line has been common, including through firings, teaching bans, public rebuke and smear campaigns. There has been widespread intimidation and censorship of critics, accusing them of antisemitism and subjecting them to disciplinary measures and even arrests. In some cases, new legal measures have been adopted to further suppress the voicing of anti-Israel views, conflating legitimate criticism of Israeli policies with antisemitism and even terrorism.

There have been multiple examples of faculty members being swiftly investigated and sometimes punished for their statements on the crisis — often after they blew up on social media or in the conventional media or after the intervention of an important donor or politician.

The war is testing how tolerant universities really are of free speech when they are under pressure

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

The US group Inside Higher Ed reviewed more than a dozen cases in which faculty speech had been censored, investigated or punished by universities or professional associations. Most cases involved those expressing statements favorable to Palestinians, usually voiced outside the classroom, at protests or on social media.

The war is testing how tolerant universities really are of free speech when they are under pressure from politicians, lobbyists or donors who are favorable to Israel. The Academic Freedom Alliance observed: “A lot of universities are on a bit of a hair trigger when it comes to faculty speech on this particular issue at the moment.” They rush to action because they “know they’re being watched by pressure groups and, in some cases, receiving pressure from donors and politicians.”

Under pressure to restrict anti-Israel views, the US Education Department is now expected to come out with regulations to make clear when a university must intervene, along the lines of former President Donald Trump’s 2019 executive order, which threatened to pull federal funding from colleges that ignore antisemitism on campus.

Fueling the campaign against Israel’s critics are well-established pro-Israel outlets, newly setup groups and ad hoc websites, which frequently name individuals and organizations that promote what they see as views critical of Israel. They keep databases of professors, writers and others accused of unfavorable views of its war on Gaza or of expressing favorable views of Palestinians. They hunt down critics, branding them as antisemites or “haters” of Israel and encourage harassment and bullying of those they name. At times, politicians take part in the harassment.

Faculty First Responders, a group funded by the American Association of University Professors, monitors websites that write about higher education and offers aid to faculty members who come under attack. Since October, it has documented “a sharp increase in attacks on faculty who express solidarity with Palestine, who express criticisms of the state of Israel.”

Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, said: “For sure, there’s no question in my mind that the violations of academic freedom have increased. Incidents are happening at an alarming rate and faculty are holding the line and trying to get their administrations to hold the line for academic freedom in polarizing times.”

The association recently released a warning on the pitfalls of “overly broad definitions of antisemitism,” reiterating its long-standing position on the subject. It stated that it “rejects the characterization of pro-Palestinian speech or critiques of the Israeli state as invariably antisemitic … These efforts to control what is thought, said, taught and researched are antithetical to the educational mission of a university and the democratic values upon which it rests.”

US politicians bear much of the responsibility, as they express blind support for Israel’s actions in Gaza

Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

Actions by anti-Palestinian campaigners in the US echo what extremists are doing in Israel itself. Neve Gordon, an Israeli legal scholar and professor of human rights and humanitarian law living in the UK, said recently that he is worried there has been a major clampdown on academic freedom in the US, Europe and Israel. His research looks at the laws of war, with a special focus on Israel-Palestine, and on definitions of antisemitism. He has been following the impact of the Gaza war on free speech at universities. He reported more than 100 cases in Israel of students and staff who have been suspended or dismissed, as well as at least 10 cases of students being arrested for their criticism of Israel’s attack on Gaza.

Adam Shinar, a professor of law at the Harry Radzyner Law School at Reichman University, recently wrote that free speech restrictions in Israel, both formal and informal, have increased significantly since the war started. The government has succeeded in creating a chilling effect, with the mere voicing of criticism — especially when coupled with empathy toward Palestinians — being conflated with treason and triggering harsh responses, from police questioning to hate speech and attacks on social media.

In the West Bank and in Gaza itself, Israel’s measures to silence criticism are extreme. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists reported this week that at least 83 journalists and media workers have been killed since Oct. 7, while Palestinian sources put the number at more than 100. The committee said that it is “particularly concerned about an apparent pattern of targeting of journalists and their families by the Israeli military.” It called for Israel to end the long-standing pattern of impunity in cases of journalists killed by its security forces.

Pro-Israel groups and lobbyists in the US are trying to whitewash what the occupation is doing by limiting debate on American campuses. The rising influence of social media has aided this process. However, US politicians bear much of the responsibility, as they express blind support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, thus encouraging extremist groups to wage witch hunts against academics who may hold different views.

• Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent the GCC. X: @abuhamad1