We live in a really extraordinary period.
We recently witnessed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights situation in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanian, sanctioned by the United States for doing his job-that is to say, documenting the abuses of Israel against the Palestinians during his ongoing military assault on Gaza.
But with more than 58,000 Palestinians killed to date in Gaza, the case for Israel is lower than ever. So, for the good of Israel, we must silence and prohibit everything.
Of course, silence and censorship have been the Modus Operandi of the Pro-Israeli camp since October 2023.
In the aftermath of Hamas’ attack against Israel, they came for all those who insisted that the history of Palestine and Israel did not start on October 7, 2023, and for having pointed out of the longer history of the occupation, colonialism of the colonists or the seat of Gaza since 2007 – they were cut, censored and punished.
These are the time of reports now reduced by “decapitated babies”.
Through the United States and Europe, some have faced death threats and attacks on social networks, while others have been reprimanded by employers and line managers for criticizing Israeli policies or publicly expressing pro-Palestinian opinions.
In the schools of Maryland, Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, the teachers were suspended and the student clubs were closed for pro-Palestine activism. University professors in the United States and the United Kingdom have been reported to the police to “like” or share pro-Palestinian publications on social networks.
In May 2024, Maura Finkelstein became the first holder to be rejected for anti -Zionist discourse. She was dismissed from Muhlenberg College after publishing the work of a Palestinian poet.
Between October 2023 and now there have been dozens of these cases around the world. Only a few days ago, four auxiliary teachers at the University of the City of New York were rejected for their solidarity activism in Palestine.
Then they came for the press.
While the foreign press has been forbidden to enter Gaza, Palestinian journalists have been treated as legitimate military targets by Israel. On average, 13 journalists were killed per month – a toll higher than that of “the two world wars, the Vietnam war, the wars in Yugoslavia and the United States war in Afghanistan combined”. It is the deadliest conflict for media workers ever registered.
Elsewhere, journalistic voices – in particular those of origin of the Middle East or North Africa – have been systematically reduced to silence to support the Palestinian cause or criticize the Israeli government.
This includes Australian radio host Antoinette Latttouf, who was dismissed in December 2023 after having published a Watch Human Watch report alleging that “Israel used famine as a weapon of war in Gaza”. Palestinian-Canadian journalists Yara Jamal (CTV) and Zahraa al-Akhrass (Global News, during maternity leave) were both dismissed in October 2023, following the pressure of honest reports from Canada.
Briahna Joy Gray and Katie Halper were also dismissed from Hill News for statements criticizing Israel. Gray announced on X: “The hill dismissed me … There should be no doubt that … suppress the speech – especially when it is critical of the state of Israel.”
Beyond the layoffs, Western media leaders shaped the story, repeating Israeli propaganda, the Malfroisant Palestinian activism like Pro-Hamas or Anti-Semitic, depicting Israelis as victims much more often than Palestinians and Whitling Israeli War Crimes in Gaza.
The BBC, in particular, faced repeated criticism for its pro-Israeli bias. From the language used in the big titles at the disproportionate antenna time given to Israeli officials, his reports have always been accused of minimizing Palestinian sufferings and reflecting discussion of the Israeli government. The resignations of staff, open letters and public demonstrations all challenged the editorial position of the diffuser on Gaza.
In Upday, the largest new aggregator in Europe belonging to Axel Springer, the employees were invited to “color the coverage of war in Gaza by the company with a pro-Israeli feeling”. The internal documents obtained by the interception revealed by the staff were invited not to “push anything involving tolls of Palestinian victims” unless “information on Israel” was given “above in history”.
There is more.
After October 7, Harvard students were submitted to terrifying Doxxing campaigns qualifying them as anti -Semitic or terrorist sympathizers, their publicly shared photos and personal data.
While the scholastide of Israel continued in Gaza, silence has spread to campuses across the United States and Europe. Palestine solidarity camps have seen students demand that their institutions cover links with Israeli universities and the military-industrial complex. They faced brutal police repression, suspensions and some were denied obtaining the diploma. Universities quickly imposed new restrictions on rallies and protests to limit the solidarity of students in Palestine.
Now, as part of a Trump administration, such suppression is public policy, extending to threats of arrest, denaturing and expulsion for pro-Palestinian voices, including legislators such as the hope of the town hall of New York Zohran Mamdani. Trump falsely labeled it “illegal”, described it as “communist” and threatened the arrest if it hampered immigration and the application of customs (ICE) “operations” – echoing the GOP representative, Andy Ogles, the call for denaturation and deportation, invoking alleged fakeness in the naturalization of Mamdani without any proof. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Ministry of Justice had received related requests.
We have also seen Palestinian flags prohibited during sporting and musical events. Individuals were denied entry into public sites and businesses for carrying a Kffiyyeh.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, was warned that he and the ICC would be “destroyed” if they had not dropped the case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. Four ICC judges were sanctioned by the United States government.
Susan Sarandon, Oscar winner, was abandoned by her talent agency, UTA, for remarks during a solidarity rally in Palestine.
Melissa Barrera was dismissed from the distribution of Scream VII for publications on social networks describing Israeli actions such as genocide and ethnic cleaning. Spyglass Media Group said that he had “zero tolerance for anti -Semitism … including false references to the genocide, ethnic cleaning, distortion of the holocaust”.
Recently, artists like Bob Vylan and Irish Group Knecap used their platforms in music festivals to show solidarity with Palestine. The group is now faced with accusations of terrorism. Vylan’s shows in Europe were canceled and its American visa has revoked, questioning a next tour of the country.
The pro-Israeli camp also launched a campaign against the Glastonbury festival after the two artists occurred there in June. They targeted the BBC for broadcasting live performance and put pressure on the organizers to distance themselves from musicians. The backlash has clearly indicated that even large cultural institutions are not immune to censorship efforts.
Adding to this disturbing trend, the Israeli-American historian and very respected American scholar, Omer Bartov, has become a focal point of a fierce reaction. In a praise for the New York Times, entitled “I am a genocide scholar. I know it when I see it, “Bartov said that Israel commits a genocide in Gaza, pointing towards the systematic destruction of infrastructure, forced population changes and rhetoric by Israeli leaders, affirming that it corresponds to both the UN and the legal definitions of the genocide.
Since then, he has been criticized by pro-Israeli factions, accused of poorly applying the term and has urged to be “canceled”, a campaign he refutes by stressing that many experts in genocide studies share his conclusion. The reputation assault currently confronted by Bartov shows how even the main genocide experts in the world are now targeted to name Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.
It already seems to be a large abolition campaign. But consider: What does he say about the position of Israel if it is so strongly based on censorship?
However, it remains insufficient. For the love of Israel, each student, academic, activist, musician, artist or legislator who criticizes his policies must now be qualified as a terrorist support. Each organization of civil society, a human rights group or international organization documenting Israeli abuses must be labeled anti -Semitic.
It is only then that we can claim that we have not seen anything. It is only then that we can say that we have heard nothing. And it is only then that we can justify why we did nothing when the genocide was underway in Gaza.
The opinions expressed in this article are the own authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.
