Various Forms of Intimidation to Quash Opposition to the Genocide in Palestine

In Spring Magazine (https://springmag.ca/not-in-my-name-halifax-jews-and-allies-rally-for-a-ceasefire), part of what Judy Haiven writes reads:

Before I start with the presentation for this wonderful rally, in front of Halifax’s historic Public Gardens today, I want to expose the campaign to shut down civil voices here in Halifax and beyond.

• The chief librarian at Halifax Public Libraries disallowed Dr. Rylan Higgins, a professor of anthropology at Saint Mary’s University, from holding a symposium called “Palestinian Existence Under Israeli Occupation” at the Central Library. After the library had agreed, it suddenly denied him, and other academics the public space. If that wasn’t bad enough, the chief librarian’s assistant had the nerve to cite the fact this week is Holocaust Remembrance Week, so the library would not permit Higgins’ symposia.
• Yara Jamal was fired as a production assistant at CTV Atlantic in Halifax last month. She had attended a public rally for Palestine, and is involved with Free Palestine Halifax – both on her own time. Yara is Muslim, a Palestinian-Canadian born in Haifa. Dan Appleby the news director at CTV Atlantic, told Yara he could not allow anyone who is sympathetic to Hamas to work at the TV station. Yara told him she has nothing at all to do with Hamas. Still he fired her.
• Zahra Al-Akhrass, a reporter at Global TV in Toronto who is Muslim, was fired on Oct. 17 for her support for Palestine.
• Sheikh Aarij Anwer, a Chaplain at the University of Western Ontario in London, was fired last week because he dared to speak against the lie that “dozens of babies were beheaded and young girls were raped” by Palestinian fighters.  This is a claim even the White House has “walked back” and agreed that the information came from Israel.
• On Oct. 12, a 26-yr-old political staffer who worked for a Quebec Liberal Member of the Legislature was fired because she “Liked” two tweets in support of Palestinian human rights.

So much for free speech in Canada. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Every day more people – Muslims and others – are fired or censured for supporting Palestinian human rights.

The attempt to stifle criticism of the current genocide in Gaza and the West Bank should be forcefully criticized–as it was above. In such a case. radical leftists can temporally ally with individuals and groups who oppose the stifling of such criticism.

On the other hand, radical leftists also have an obligation to criticize openly others when they express a point of view that reinforces the general class power of employers. Thus, the reference in the above quote to “Palestinian human rights” should be criticized.

The reference to human rights–probably related to human rights that substituted for the issue of class relations and class exploitation and oppression–cannot serve to advance a socialist agenda and thus the abolition of the class power of employers–unless of course those who advocate such use can somehow link up a class agenda and a human rights agenda. If anyone has, please provide references or an argument in the comments section).

I have argued in another post that human rights talk is inadequate for advancing a socialist agenda (see Is Amnesty International a Progressive Organization?–or Is the Term “Progressive Organization” an Example of an Abstract Slogan of Social Democrats? Part One and Is Amnesty International a Progressive Organization?–or Is the Term “Progressive Organization” an Example of an Abstract Slogan of Social Democrats? Part Two), so I will not belabor the point.