Statement on Linda Sarsour's Commencement Address at CUNY

The Academic Engagement Network -- an anti-BDS organization of which I am a member -- issued the following statement regarding protests over Linda Sarsour's commencement address at CUNY:

Academic Engagement Network Statement in Defense of Free Speech at CUNY
May 30, 2017

The selection of Linda Sarsour, a prominent Muslim-American activist and co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington, as a commencement speaker at the City University of New York School of Public Health stirred immense controversy and even some protest violence this past week. While Ms. Sarsour was chosen as a speaker because of her involvement in public health issues in New York City and her position as a leader on women’s issues, many people opposed her being given a platform due to her radical anti-Zionism and support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

In recent months, senior campus administrators at several American universities have had to grapple with the disruption of talks slated to be delivered by controversial speakers, which on occasion resulted in heckler’s vetoes effectively shaping who can and cannot appear on campuses. In this context, the Academic Engagement Network, an organization of over 450 American university and college faculty on more than 175 campuses, which supports academic freedom and freedom of expression, salutes the decision by CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken to support free exchange and expression. True support for freedom of expression means support for speech even by those whose views may be repugnant or controversial. As Milliken affirmed in a statement on April 26, in response to pressures to cancel the commencement speech: “Taking action now because critics disagree with the content of speech would conflict with the First Amendment and with principles of academic freedom.”

Let us be clear: we decry Linda Sarsour’s crude anti-Zionist politics and find her support for BDS repellent. But we strongly support Chancellor Milliken’s decision not to cancel Ms. Sarsour’s invited commencement address, despite his own misgivings about that for which she stands.

Specifically, we agree with Chancellor Miliken when he stated: “Obviously … it cannot be said that CUNY endorses her view on this matter; we continue to believe BDS is anathema to the values of higher education. But the fact that Ms. Sarsour might hold views that are controversial cannot be the basis for withdrawing an invitation to speak.”

Comments

[anon]

Can't watch "Wonder Woman” in Lebanon? The Guardian states that the government reportedly responded to pressure from the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon to ban what they called “the Israeli Soldier film.”

Apparently, the actress is a Jew who served for two years in the Israeli army. The ban isn't because she is a Jew or because of Jew hate, however.

According to Wiki: "At present, a total of 31 United Nations member states do not recognise the State of Israel: 18 of the 21 UN members in the Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; a further 10 members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Chad, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan."

Thus, forbidding a comic book movie makes perfect sense, when one understands that it is not Jew hate that motivates all this: it is hatred of "Zionism."

[insert Israel rant]

[anon]

PS

Those who will support (or who will be basically unconcerned about) an action based on the identity of this actress or the identity of other Jews will be, IMHO, those most likely support the stance of the plaintiffs on the second EO on travel (arguing that association with a state from which one may seek to travel is just a ruse for religious animus and thus illegitimate bigotry).

Let's test that proposition.

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

anon at 5:27

They would probably ban Smokey and the Bandit, (Sally Fields), the Flying Nun and Bewitched too. Anything with a strong, attractive woman. In many ways, they are almost as bad as T-Rump. At least they only banned a film. He banned an entire religion...