Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Freedom of Speech

Showing posts with label Freedom of Speech. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Amnesty's position on "freedom of expression" in films is curiously one-sided

Today, Amnesty International tweeted this:

Amnesty is saying that banning a movie is a violation of freedom of expression. Amnesty is against all forms of censorship - the allegation that the movie promotes homosexuality does not seem to be the issue at all, just freedom of expression.

However, when Lebanon bans movies for having Israeli actors or producers, Amnesty has not said a word. Isn't that the exact same violation of freedom of expression?

Perhaps not according to Amnesty. Because they do support some boycotts - boycotts against Israel.

Amnesty says, "Advocating for boycotts, divestment and sanctions is a form of non-violent advocacy and of free expression that must be protected."

BDS advocates boycotting the free speech of Israelis on college campuses, and its boycotters do all they can to get venues outside Israel to cancel any talk by an Israeli. Similarly, they threaten artists not to play in Israel , which is another violation of freedom of expression.

How, exactly, is Algeria and Kuwait's boycotts of a movie for religious reasons (whether or not their objections are accurate) a violation of free speech, while Israel-haters' boycotts of movies with Israelis are an example of free speech?

In both cases, the boycotters are the ones that are trying to shut down free speech. You cannot have it both ways.

The analogy isn't perfect - government censorship is different than people deciding to boycott on their own, which of course is their right. But Amnesty has condemned a number of countries for censoring films with LGBTQ themes, and not one word for censoring films with Israeli links.

They are both equally guilty of violating freedom of expression, but only one upsets Amnesty.

It sure sounds like Amnesty's concern for freedom of expression only extends to expression that they agree with.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Amnesty claims to support free speech - but it has censored Zionist voices in its own spaces

Amnesty International tweeted on Saturday:

Reminder: Everyone has the right to freedom of expression

Really?

Because on more than one occasion, Amnesty showed exactly how little it cares about freedom of expression.

Amnesty provides various spaces for rent in its London offices. There are no policies listed on its webpage saying who is allowed to rent their space. Yet in 2018, months after the Jewish Leadership Council made arrangements to rent out space for a debate on UN policy towards Israel, and only days before the planned event, Amnesty canceled the rental agreement and refused to allow the debate to take place.

Their reason? “We reserve the right to withhold permission for our building to be used by organisations whose work runs directly counter to our own. The presence of UN Watch is of significant concern and they have been active in the promotion of the event. We have partners and colleagues – both Israeli and Palestinian – working on the ground and this does put some of their working relationships at risk." They also told the JLC that they did not think it was appropriate to allow speakers who support Jews living in Judea and Samaria while Amnesty campaigns a boycott of "settlement goods."

This means that Amnesty will only rent their space to those whom they do not have any political disagreements with. Which includes antisemitism, since Amnesty-UK did rent their space to an organization that featured a speaker who justified and praised the terror attack murdering Israeli children in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva massacre.

And it is not only Amnesty-UK that only rents out its public spaces to those it agrees with. In 2014, when the Columbia University branch of Amnesty invited Alan Dershowitz to speak, Amnesty International told them to cancel the event, which they did.

Which proves that it isn't that Amnesty opposes pro-settlement speech - but any kind of Zionist speech.

Similarly, Amnesty - so opposed to Zionist speech - has never condemned explicit Arab antisemitism and incitement to terrorism against Jews. This is even though Amnesty admits that incitement and hate speech is not covered by freedom of expression.

This is about as hypocritical as it gets.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

The Palestinian Authority has its own law to severely restrict all NGOs - and no one reports about it

Cover of PCHR's "Annual Reprot" [sic]

Remember the huge amount of outrage last year when Israel shut down the offices of seven PFLP-linked NGOs? It was condemned by the UN, political leaders and human rights groups.

Well, buried in the Palestinian Center of Human Rights 2022 annual report we see something that didn't generate a single headline in the West.

This year witnessed further restrictions, including the amendment to the non-profit companies’ regulation upon a decision issued by the Palestinian Cabinet, which imposed excessive restrictions on the work and funding of non-profit companies, under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

Issuance of the Non-Profit Companies Regulation No. (20) of 2022

The Palestinian Cabinet issued a new regulation on non-profit companies, which includes many restrictions on the work and funding of these companies, which is one of the forms of the right to freedom of association in Palestine. This regulation, which was published in the issue 194 of the Palestinian Gazette on 25 September 2022, included serious restrictions that threaten the existence of CSOs registered as non-profit companies.

The new regulation, which has replaced the old one in force since 2010 and the cabinet’s decision attached to it in 2016 concerning the funding of non-profit companies, came to add more restrictions on the right to form non-profit companies, as the old regulation included many restrictions. The regulation was issued under the pretext of fighting terrorism and money laundering.

More arbitrary measures were imposed by the authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on associations, threatening the associations’ right to exist, practice its activities freely, and obtain funding. Most of them fully violate the fundamental rights relevant to the freedom of association, including their right to existence, free performance of activities, receipt of funds and the right to privacy and independence. Also, increased restrictive measures are imposed on the associations in the Gaza Strip due to the double restrictions imposed by the two authorities in Gaza and the West Bank.

So the PA and Hamas are also restricting NGO activity. They are also claiming that they are doing this to fight "terrorism" which is as ironic as it gets.

The Palestinian law includes a provision that the NGOs must operate in line with the plan of action of the relevant Palestinian government ministries, meaning that the takes away all independence for the NGOs. There are many other onerous provisions.

But no one has a problem with this. I couldn't find any article in Western news media that discussed this topic exclusively.

Palestinian human rights violations are simply not reported. Because if they would be, then the entire lucrative industry of anti-Israel reporting would collapse.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Roger Waters supports free speech, but only that he agrees with

In April, when the city of Frankfurt planned to cancel their Roger Waters concert for antisemitism, he wrote on Instagram:

ROGER WATERS FRANKFURT SHOW UPDATE
FRANKFURT COUNCIL WERE LEGALLY REQUIRED
TO RESPOND TO ROGER WATERS INTERIM INJUNCTION
BY MIDNIGHT APRIL 14
DID THEY?
NOBODY KNOWS?
WE CAN ONLY GUESS AT
WHAT’S GOING ON IN FRANKFURT?
ARE THEY PLAYING FOR TIME?
WHO KNOWS?

NOT THAT IT MATTERS MUCH!
WE’RE COMING ANYWAY!
BECAUSE HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER!
BECAUSE FREE SPEECH MATTERS!
YES! FRANKFURT CITY COUNCIL
WE REMEMBER KRISTALLNACHT!
LIKE SOPHIE SCHOLL
OUR FATHERS STOOD
WITH THOSE THREE THOUSAND JEWISH MEN
AND TODAY WE STAND WITH THE PALESTINIANS!
WE’RE COMING TO FRANKFURT
ON THE 28TH OF MAY!

LOVE

R.

(Yes, he pretends to understand Kristallnacht better than the Germans do.)

Last week Waters again said that he supports free speech:

Free speech matters!

Except when it doesn't.

This week, for at least the third time, a fan with an Israeli flag was forcibly removed from a Roger Waters show and the flag desecrated.

Former Pink Floyd star Roger Waters, who has lately featured repeatedly in the news for all the wrong reasons, has stated that wearing a mock Nazi uniform in his concerts was actually a "statement against fascism", but that does not explain why a fan who was waving an Israeli flag was manhandled by security and escorted off site.

"There was no intent on my part to provoke anyone," said Gilad Emilio Schenkar, who arrived at the concert with his partner. "And I certainly did not plan on being thrown out."

"Both I and my partner are huge Pink Floyd fans, and this was dubbed a farewell tour, so we just had to buy tickets. Since we've been noticing the antisemitic displays in his concerts lately, we decided to take an Israeli flag with us.

Shortly after displaying the Israeli flag, he was summarily ejected from the venue. "It was brutal. They grabbed and dragged me out. It was quite painful. They took me to a side room and interrogated me. Who I am, what I was doing there and all that. They firmly held my hands while they searched me. They then took the flag, threw it in the garbage and kicked me out. I told them that I thought this was a democracy, so why is a Palestinian flag allowed but an Israeli one isn't?"

Unlike the earlier incidents, in this case there was no written message, no chanting. The man simply displayed the Israeli flag quietly. It is not blocking anyone's view. It is not disruptive in the least.

And that was too much free speech for Roger Waters.

When Waters says "We remember Kristallnacht," it appears to mean that he remembers it from the Nazi point of view. Because his treatment of peaceful protesters at his concerts are right in line with how Nazis dealt with protests.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Algeria voted to Security Council. Let's spend five minutes looking at this wonderful country.

Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Tuesday, on the election of Algeria as a member of the UN Security Council.

Let's take a quick look at what life is like in Algeria today.

- A law was passed in 1962 that ensured that anyone without a Muslim grandparent couldn't be a citizen. Some 140,000 Jews had to leave, and the laws, while changed, ensure that they cannot become citizens today.

- Algeria routinely arrests human rights activists.

- There are credible reports of torture in prisons.

- The judiciary is not independent and effectively controlled by the president.

- There are laws that restrict women's rights.

- Men who beat women can be pardoned if the woman is pressured to marry him.

- There are laws that criminalize many forms of speech, both in mainstream and social media. Some journalists were harassed and intimidated.

- Laws restrict activities of any religion besides Sunni Islam.

- Gays can be imprisoned under the law for homosexual acts.

- Movies and books must be approved before being allowed into the country.

- Protests in Algiers are essentially illegal.

- Black Algerians, Black migrants and non-Muslims are widely discriminated against.

So Algeria is a racist, homophobic, misogynist, apartheid dictatorship whose citizens have no freedom and limited rights.

One reason you don't hear much about countries like Algeria in the news is because if the media and human rights groups would judge all countries with the same standards and campaign against all abuses with the same energy, criticism of Israel would be invisible in the tsunami of actual serious human rights abuses worldwide. And they don't want to live in a world like that.

A set at the Security Council is a very high honor. Outside of groups like UN Watch, who is protesting giving this honor to a country as contemptuous of human rights as Algeria is?

No one cares.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Amazing how "pro-Palestinian" voices are being silenced on campus

On Monday, Human Rights Watch's Omar Shakir - a BDS advocate who was hired by that organization not in spite of but because of his rabid hate for Israel - spoke at Yale University about Israel's "apartheid."

During the course of his speech, he predictably engaged in the usual anti-Israel lies, based on the slanderous idea that Israel's non-equal treatment of non-citizen Palestinians is meant to be a system of Jewish supremacy over Arabs.

But then, while actually speaking at Yale, Shakir said the most self-contradictory thing possible:

Shakir then transitioned into a discussion addressing the issue of the academic freedom and space to speak about Palestine on American campuses, with specific reference to Harvard Kennedy School’s fellowship offer, retraction and reoffer to leading human rights advocate Kenneth Roth.

“What happened to Ken has been happening to academics who are critical of Israel and speak out for Palestinian rights, and young academics and Palestinians are facing the worst,” Shakir said. “Things are changing [and] the conversation is changing and the arc of history is bending, [but] this is happening at the very same time that the situation on the ground is getting worse and worse everyday, so we live in this dichotomy”

If the Zionists have such a stranglehold over academic freedom, how did Shakir manage to speak at Yale?

OK, maybe it is only on some campuses - like Harvard - that the Zionist overlords ensure that the campus only allows pro-Israel, anti-Arab messages to get to the students.

Oops, nope:

Join us for this coming year’s Arab Conference at Harvard, to be hosted between March 3-5, 2023 at Harvard University.

Previously known as the Harvard Arab Weekend, the Arab Conference at Harvard (ACH) is the largest pan-Arab conference in North America, bringing together over 1300 students and professionals as well as a 20,000-strong livestream audience from across the U.S. and globally to learn from leaders in a diverse array of sectors.

Strange "silencing" of pro-Palestinian voices at Harvard.

But perhaps these events are not academic events - and professors are silenced on campus as to what they are allowed to teach; that anti-Israel academics are severely limited in their "criticism of Israel."

Nope again.

The very same Omar Shakir who is telling roomfuls of students that academics who are critical of Israel are being silenced and their careers jeopardized tweeted this the very same day:

Yes, an entire course at Bard College by a well-known anti-Israel professor dedicated to spreading a message of racist Jewish evil towards Palestinians.

That instructor, Nathan Thrall, is so silenced for his views that he wrote a huge anti-Israel article for the New York Times Magazine filled with anti-Israel and pro-BDS lies.

The idea that anti-Israel opinions are silenced is a clear falsehood. But in the milieu of the "progressive" Left, victimhood is the coin of the realm, so the Israel haters and modern antisemites have to claim that they are being oppressed while at the same time bullying and shouting down any Zionist voices on campus.

The entire anti-Israel movement is predicated on lies, and they know that no lie is too absurd to be believed if it is repeated and amplified enough.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Someone complained about one of my @KenRoth tweets to Twitter in Germany (update)

Ken Roth, formerly of Human Rights Watch, has been having a meltdown lately.

Over the summer, Harvard's Kennedy School did not offer him a fellowship, reportedly because rich Zionists who fund the school didn't like his record of crazed anti-Israel tweets and reports.

We have no information about whether this is really the reason. But Roth is pushing that narrative as mentioned in the original Nation article about this non-story.

As a propagandist, Roth waited until he could get media coverage for the insult to his vaunted expertise and now he is tweeting about the supposed loss of "academic freedom" that this represents - now that he has found another fellowship at another Ivy League school.

He's been tweeting constantly about this.

Anyway, I responded to one of his tweets where he demeaned anyone who called out his anti-Israel obsession as a form of antisemitism:

So Roth, or one of his German fans, tried to show how much they care about freedom of speech by reporting me to Twitter!

I received an email:

Hello,

Twitter is required by German law to provide notice to users who are reported by people from Germany via the Network Enforcement Act reporting flow.

We have received a complaint regarding your account, elderofziyon, for the following content:

Reported Tweet

@KenRoth We're not idiots, Ken. We know what human rights advocacy looks like. We know what "criticism of Israel" looks like. And we know what antisemitism looks like.

Your obsessive hate for Israel (and even now, blaming rich Jews for not getting the Harvard gig) is antisemitism.

We have investigated the reported content and have found that it is not subject to removal under the Twitter Rules (https://support.twitter.com/articles/18311) or German law.

Sincerely,
Twitter ------------------------------------------------------

Roth would post every single time someone complained to Twitter about one of his tweets, pretending he is a champion of free speech and evil Zionists were trying to silence him. (Even though Human Rights Watch under him banned me from their Twitter feed!)

So....who is trying to silence me, and does Roth support them?

UPDATE: They complained about a second tweet of mine!

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!