Anti-Israel Activism Criminalized in the Land of Charlie Hebdo and “Free Speech”
The post-Charlie Hebdo “free speech” march in Paris was a fraud for multiple reasons, as I wrote at the time. It was led by dozens of world leaders,many of whom imprison or even kill people for expressing prohibited
views. It was cheered by many Westerners who feign upset only when free
speech abridgments are perpetrated by Muslims, but not — as is far more common — by their own governments against Muslims.
Worst of all, the march took place in a country that is one of the
most hostile to free speech rights in the West, as France quickly
demonstrated in the days after the march by rounding up and prosecuting Muslims and other anti-Israel activists for the political views they expressed. A great, best-selling book by French philosopher Emmanuel Todd released this year argues
that these “free speech” marches were a “sham,” driven by
many political sentiments — nativism, nationalism, anti-Muslim bigotry —
that had nothing to do with free speech.
The absurdity of France’s celebrating itself for free expression was
vividly highlighted by this week’s decision from that nation’s highest
court, one that is a direct assault on basic free speech rights. The
French high court upheld the criminal conviction of
12 political activists for the “crime” of advocating sanctions and a
boycott against Israel as a means of ending the decades-long military
occupation of Palestine. What did these French criminals do? This:
The individuals arrived at the supermarket wearing shirts
emblazoned with the words: “Long live Palestine, boycott Israel.” They
also handed out fliers that said that “buying Israeli products means
legitimizing crimes in Gaza.”
