ANTI ISRAEL GROUP CENSORS PRO ISRAEL STUDENTS AT BROOKLYN COLLEGE
The BDS movement is well known for shutting down any debate regarding their anti-Israel, anti-Semitic agenda. BDS leaders to the one have refused to engage in free and open debate with any Israel advocates. This relentless censorship of ideas was demonstrated at a BDS affiliated event in Seattle this past February when one pro-Israel advocate was bombarded with hate speech and removed from the auditorium and a second was assaulted. The Algemeiner (see below) reports a similar outcome at a recent BDS event held at Brooklyn College, that bastion of free expression, where four pro-Israel members of the audience were forcibly removed.
Investigation: Jewish Students Were Unjustly Evicted from Brooklyn College BDS Event
From The Algemeiner (Zach Pontz): After a two month investigation into the circumstances surrounding the expulsion of four Jewish students from a BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) event aimed at Israel at Brooklyn College in February, a report has been issued that states that a “plausible inference can be drawn that the removal of the four students was motivated by their political viewpoint.”
The event featured anti-Israel activists Judith Butler and Omar Barghouti and gained considerable attention in the press when it was discovered that the school’s Political Science Department was a sponsor.
The report was originally commissioned by the school after conflicting accounts arose as to why the four students, Melanie Goldberg, Ari and Michael Ziegler and Yvonne Juris had been removed from the event. The organizers, Students for Justice in Palestine, as well as the university itself said that the students were being disruptive by handing out fliers and talking and were removed on the recommendation of Carlos Guzman, a former student at Hunter College who was the SJP vice president at that school but who did not attend Brooklyn College in any capacity. The Jewish students contended that the allegations were completely false. This contention gained further credence after an audiotape published by The Algemeiner reinforced the students’ claims.
The report, which was conducted by the firm of Bryan Cave LLP and involved interviews with more than 40 witnesses, concluded: “It is clear that there was no justification for the removal of the four students. They did not create a ‘disturbance.’ Even though the sound system was not working perfectly and Dr. Butler spoke in a soft voice, she could be heard clearly at all times. At most the students made some noise when they entered and got settled into their seats. Even then only a few people nearby heard them. Any subsequent noise would appear to have been the result of Guzman’s intervention. Nor were any of the four students wrong in refusing to hand over their papers.” READ THE REST AT THE ALGEMEINER.
