"The Global Hate-Speech Conundrum"
The recent mass arrests of pro-Palestinian demonstrators have left many asking how such suppression can be justified in a free society. Yet—despite some clear instances of excessive force—U.S. legal tolerance for protests is a global outlier, even among liberal democracies. Since October, U.S. public officials and college administrators have condoned most anti-Israel protests, including (for a while) long-term encampments that violate university rules. Many have provided police protection, even while some protestors voiced support for Hamas's October 7 massacre, lobbed arguably anti-Semitic insults, or called for further violence against Israeli Jews.
In the days and weeks after October 7, with the Israel Defense Force's retaliation in Gaza well underway, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with the Star of David, and crowds spontaneously sang the Israeli national anthem. Meanwhile, the French Interior Minister instituted a ban on all pro-Palestinian protests.
In Germany, 10,000 joined a pro-Israel rally, while public expressions of pro-Palestinian messages as benign as "stop the war" were prohibited. Berlin police announced that chanting "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" was a criminal offense. In Berlin schools, Palestinian flag colors and the kaffiyeh—a traditional Middle Eastern scarf now associated with Palestinian nationalism—were banned, while other ethnic apparel was permitted. The first pro-Palestinian demonstration was finally permitted in Hamburg in late October 2023, but with a limit on Palestinian flags and a prohibition on questioning Israel's right to exist. And similar to Germany, the British Home Secretary directed police that "From the river to the sea … " may "amount to a racially aggravated … public order offence," in some contexts, punishable by imprisonment.
