SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Summarizing a report from The Intercept :
One of the most dangerous threats to campus free speech has been emerging at the highest levels of the University of California system, the sprawling collection of 10 campuses that includes UCLA and UC Berkeley. The university's governing Board of Regents, with the support of University President and former Director of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, has been attempting to adopt new speech codes that -- in the name of combating "anti-Semitism" -- would formally ban various forms of Israel criticism and anti-Israel activism.
[...]
One of the Regents most vocally advocating for the most stringent version of the speech code is Richard Blum, the multi-millionaire defense contractor who is married to Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. Blum's verbatim comments include:" She [Feinstein] wants to stay out of the conversation publicly but if we do not do the right thing she will engage publicly and is prepared to be critical of this university if we don't have the kind of not only statement but penalties for those who commit what you can call them crimes, call them whatever you want."
In short, Feinstein and her husband flatly threatened the university with political consequences if students or faculty found to be in violation of their policy aren't disciplined or expelled for exercising protected free speech.
What is wanted by Feinstein and supporters is for the University to adopt the State Department's controversial 2010 definition which equates criticism of Israel to Anti-Semitism. Perhaps the most ironic bullet-point in the definition warns against advocating a "double standard for Israel" at exactly the same time that it promulgates a standard that applies only to Israel!
(Score: 2) by kurenai.tsubasa on Thursday October 08 2015, @11:06PM
Same logic that anyone who might question a feminist initiative or position will find themselves labeled “pro-rape.” It makes no sense whatsoever.
I think there's something additional going on with the whole anti-Semitism thing. I've observed that, for whatever reason, many protestants and fundamentalists (jdavidb obviously not being one of them) somehow view it as a matter of faith to lend blind political support to Israel. One example that comes to mind is that most believe that Israel's swift victory in the Six-Day War [wikipedia.org] is proof that their god is on Israel's side. Therefore, for the USA to retain the favor of their god, the USA must support Israel.
Pile on a heaping helping of Islamophobia, and there you go. Naturally, this nuanced construction of the position that questioning Israel's politics or military constitutes blasphemy is gift-wrapped in horror at the acts of the Nazis against the Jews (but not disabled people, homosexuals, and other impurities in the Aryan race—they probably deserved it in this mindset).
There are always exceptions. See Southern Christian Identity [splcenter.org]. In that case, Caucasians are lost 13th tribe of Israel, and the political body we know otherwise as Israel is a fake.
(Score: 2) by http on Friday October 09 2015, @06:45AM
In regards to
...don't tell them about that five week conflict with Lebanon. Their poor brains might melt.
I browse at -1 when I have mod points. It's unsettling.