Letters

Hate Speech Has No Place in the Public Sphere

It was with great dismay and disappointment that I heard that the University of Pennsylvania was set to play host for the latest anti-Israel boycott, divest and sanction conference (Cover story: "Speakers, Video Reveal Agenda Behind BDS," Feb. 2). This gathering will inject a poisonous divisiveness into not just the immediate campus environment, but also throughout the city and region, largely by spewing long debunked falsehoods into the public sphere.

Last Friday night, following services, I stood with student leaders from the Jewish and African-American communities at the campus Hillel to express my support for Israel and to let these young leaders know that they were not alone.

Israel is a democratic nation, a leader in that regard in the region. It is indisputable that, since 1948, Israel has sought and, to this day, still seeks peace with its Palestinian neighbors. The BDS movement perpetuates intellectually and morally bankrupt notions that avoid inconvenient truths -- among them how poorly Palestinians have been treated by their Muslim brethren, in the years before and after Israel's creation.

While I am a supporter of free speech, I believe that hate speech is exempt from this privilege. Some people want to rewrite history. I don't. I stand with all members of the Jewish faith, arms locked in unity as human beings.

State Sen. Anthony Williams
Philadelphia

At BDS, Hypocrisy Was Likely to Run Amuck

The Penn BDS conference last weekend was odious, and the university's decision to host it in the name of unfettered free speech is questionable (Cover story: "Speakers, Video Reveal Agenda Behind BDS," Feb. 2).

In 2010, ZOA was instrumental in getting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be interpreted and enforced to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment and intimidation on campus.

The hatred flowing from such programs was the kind of activity this was designed to stem. The Penn BDS group insists that it is not anti-Semitic and is interested in open dialogue. Ironically, it barred the Jewish Exponent, the local community's paper of record, from covering the conference.

Penn said it could not do anything about this because it was a private group's decision. Thus, a private university not obligated to host this hate-fest, handed over its facilities to this group, but then divested itself of any responsibility for making sure the media could cover it.

How can we be sure that the group is not violating Title VI? In the name of the very same free speech that allowed the conference to assemble, the Jewish press had a right to cover it. It's hypocrisy run amuck.

Lee Bender
Co-president
Zionist Organization of America
Greater Philadelphia District

The Best Way to Combat BDS? Educate Ourselves

Whether it's Arab propaganda or specifically the BDS movement, we have to stop responding defensively.

Yes, it's great to support Israeli companies and render the BDS movement ineffective. But unless we go on the offensive, we will be reacting to the BDS movement, and not rendering it irrelevant (Cover story: "Speakers, Video Reveal Agenda Behind BDS," Feb. 2).

If a group supports the boycott, we should respond in kind. Unless these groups feel they have something to lose, it makes it easier for them to support the boycott of Israel.

Stop institutions from allowing these conferences a venue. Let Penn, my alma mater, know how we feel. Donors must withhold donations.

Don't hide behind the free-speech argument. A conference of lies and hate speech should not be allowed at an institution of higher learning. Besides, if it were the Ku Klux Klan who wanted to meet, Penn would have no problem refusing them.

Most important, we have to educate ourselves. The greatest harm of a group like BDS is that their falsehoods become embedded in the fabric of the debate. How can we combat the lies of the BDS movement, unless we all are students of the history of Israel? When we educate those who have been misinformed, it will be the best way to combat Arab propaganda.

Ted Harrison
New Hope