...The discussion noted a recent increase in support by Americans for Palestinian rights. Activism favoring Palestinians has also grown. But as support grew, so did U.S. efforts to suppress such activism. This resulted in U.S. policy changes favoring Israel and disfavoring Palestine. These changes put pressure on American groups that supported Palestinians. They also tried to silence criticism of Israeli anti-Palestinian policies.

These policies prescribed tactics of censorship of pro-Palestinian speech. According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, the policies included “disciplinary investigations and dismissals and false accusations of antisemitism.” Other accusations included terrorism, intimidation, and smear campaigns. Not ending there, claims of discrimination, media, social media bias, and censorship was lodged. Finally, these policies involved legal threats and administrative sanctions, and legislation criminalizing support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. ...

Read the full piece here.