SUBRAMANIAN: Free speech must be protected when discussing Israel-Hamas War
Column: Whadda I Know
On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israel. This has re-energized the conflict in the area, with Israel bombing major areas in the Gaza Strip.
In the U.S., this news has taken center stage, with many paying attention to the events. One impact of this event in the U.S. is the erosion of free speech.
When thinking about free speech, many are quick to turn to the language of the First Amendment. It is a good place to start, especially given how explicit its protections for freedom of speech are.
On the other hand, only relegating ourselves to the First Amendment fails to acknowledge that the principle of freedom of speech is not only limited to the government's actions but is also a core value in American society that needs to be upheld.
The founding fathers of the U.S. recognized this. For example, in November 1737, Benjamin Franklin published an essay called "On Freedom of Speech and the Press," where he wrote that "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government. When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins."
In a similar vein, when addressing officers during the American Revolution, former President George Washington stated, "For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us. The freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent, we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter."
In both of these quotes, Franklin and Washington do not just view freedom of speech as a piece of legislation or just empty words on paper but as a guiding principle that the U.S. needs. What is concerning is that this very principle is facing erosion today.
The most notable place where this is happening is on college campuses. For example, the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, Ray Rodrigues, recently called for two Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters to be disbanded, stating that they were supporting terrorist activities.
This kind of action serves as viewpoint discrimination, considering that there is no evidence that any of these SJP chapters did anything outside the protections of the First Amendment.
Even on Rutgers campuses, free speech is under attack. While University President Jonathan Holloway may truly believe in elevating free speech as a value at this University, the University's actions do not reflect this.
On October 25, Rutgers facilities vans pulled up to Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue campus after a pro-Palestinian chalking event and dumped water there, washing away all the chalk.
How are Rutgers students supposed to be able to express their opinions fully if they have to worry about their expression being suppressed by the University?
Beyond college campuses, this illiberalism has tangible effects on the private sector and future student employment. After the October 7 attacks on Israel, several student groups at Harvard College published a statement blaming Israel for the unfolding violence. They called for Harvard to take action against the "annihilation of Palestinians."
As a result of this, a group of CEOs of prominent companies such as Sweetgreen and Pershing Square Capital Management have encouraged Harvard to release the names of students who are a member of any of the clubs that signed the joint statement to make sure that they do not get hired at their companies.
What has since happened is that students at Harvard who were signatories to the letter have been getting doxxed via trucks that display the information of members of any of the clubs that signed the statement. What makes this problem worse is that some students are just members of a signatory club and were not involved in their organization's decision-making process for signing the letter — these members can face consequences for just being affiliated with the groups.
In the private sector, prominent media figures have also undergone criticism for expressing their views publicly. For example, sports commentator and former pornographic actress Mia Khalifa was fired from Playboy after posting pro-Hamas statements, like "Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal."
While this statement is disgusting, nothing Khalifa said in this post would constitute threatening an act of violence or engaging in fighting words. Even if her comments are awful, it does not change the fact that the value of free speech is not just for milquetoast or ordinary remarks but is also applicable to rude, offensive and disgusting remarks.
On the other hand, prominent voice actress Tara Strong was fired from the YouTube show "Boxtown" after posting pro-Israel statements. One of the more controversial instances of this was when the voice actress liked a post equating all Muslims to Hamas and ISIS. But Strong did apologize for this, stating that she did not read the entire post.
Many college students today are uncomfortable expressing their political opinions out of fear of backlash, and these events confirm these fears.
Suppose up-and-coming voice actors and sports commentators see that prominent figures in their future fields are getting canceled over what they may post or like — how likely will they want to go into these industries and try to be vocal about their views on different issues?
The conflict between Israel and Palestine is complicated and marred by decades of tension and hostility between the two, and free speech should not be endangered.
But hey, whadda I know?
Kiran Subramanian is a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in economics and political science. His column, "Whadda I Know," runs on alternate Wednesdays.
*Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
YOUR VOICE | The Daily Targum welcomes submissions from all readers. Due to space limitations in our print newspaper, letters to the editor must not exceed 900 words. Guest columns and commentaries must be between 700 and 900 words. All authors must include their name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Please submit via email to oped@dailytargum.com by 4 p.m. to be considered for the following day's publication. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
