1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Col Zone Media. 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, I'm welcome to it can happen here. My 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 2: name is Daniel Kurd, and I'm a writer, analyst, and 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 2: researcher of Palestinian and Arab politics. I'm an associate professor 5 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 2: of political science and a senior non resident Fellow at 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 2: the Arab Center Washington. I'm also occasional co host of 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 2: The Fire These Times. Today, I want to talk about 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 2: the attacks on American universities in American academia and what 9 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 2: role Palestine plays in all of this, and maybe end 10 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 2: on what's being done to stop it. So you may 11 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 2: or may not have heard about the attacks on universities 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 2: in academia, but given the general onslaught of disastrous news, 13 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 2: even for those of you who have noted something is 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 2: happening in higher education may not be keeping up with 15 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 2: the details. So let me give you a brief summary. 16 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 2: A number of universities, including Harvard, Brown, Columbia, and UCLA, 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,959 Speaker 2: have been investigated for campus anti semitism related to pro 18 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 2: Palestine protests on those campuses over the past two years. 19 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 2: From there, the Trump administration has escalated by slashing federal 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 2: funding that those universities receive and forcing those universities to 21 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 2: settle with the administration not only monetarily, but also by 22 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 2: implementing changes to how their universities are run. So, for example, 23 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 2: Columbia University agreed to pay the Trump administration two hundred 24 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 2: and twenty million dollars punish seventy students involved in the 25 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 2: protests in a variety of ways, including by expelling them, 26 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 2: and they agreed to monitor and report their programs for 27 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 2: unlawful DEI goals. That's a quote. One of the ways 28 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 2: Columbia has agreed to monitor, as the Intercept reported in April, 29 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 2: is by appointing a vice provost in charge of monitoring 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 2: the Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department, in 31 00:01:55,520 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 2: particular for quote balanced curricula. The faculty in that department 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 2: will no longer run that department, and as the Middle 33 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 2: East Studies Association, in a statement back in March, noted this, 34 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 2: placing the department under administrative receivership is a quote fundamental 35 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 2: abrogation of the autonomy of university governance. This comes at 36 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 2: a time when the Trump administration has also attacked the 37 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 2: National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the 38 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 2: National Institutes of Health, All of these are federal funding 39 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 2: sources for the majority of research that happens at universities 40 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 2: across disciplines the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities. The Trumpet 41 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 2: administration has also attacked foreign students and the processes by 42 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,959 Speaker 2: which they are able to get visas study in the 43 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 2: United States, which is just another way to get at 44 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 2: a major revenue source for many universities. But why is 45 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 2: the Trump administration doing all this? Here is Vice President JD. 46 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 2: Vance speaking to the National Conservatism Conference back in twenty 47 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 2: twenty one. 48 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 3: We have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in 49 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 3: this country. Ladies and gentlemen. The universities do not pursue 50 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 3: knowledge and truth. They pursued deceit and lies. And it's 51 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 3: time to be honest about that fact. And we subsidize, 52 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,519 Speaker 3: we support, and in our own ways all of us 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 3: reinforce the power of universities to control our lives and 54 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 3: control how we live them. So much of what drives 55 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 3: truth and knowledge as we understand it in this country 56 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 3: is fundamentally determined by, supported by, and reinforced by the 57 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 3: universities in this country. 58 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 2: So that's Vance before him and Trump won the election, 59 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 2: identifying that universities are sites of power. Therefore, he argues 60 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 2: very explicitly that conservatives must destroy these sites of power 61 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 2: or submit them to their will. Our universities truly sites 62 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 2: of power? The short answer is yes, for two reasons. 63 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 2: Number One, as Vance himself identifies, universities produce knowledge, and 64 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 2: that knowledge produce that universities drives in innovation in the 65 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 2: private sector, in tech, in health, and weapons manufacturing. Universities 66 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 2: are a main engine of economic growth. In fact, universities 67 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 2: are part and parcel of American global power. They are 68 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 2: a major source of that power for the United States, 69 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 2: whether in the students and scholars they attract, whether for 70 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 2: their research that they produce that various arms of the 71 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 2: American government can use, or whether for the legitimization that 72 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 2: universities provide for certain frameworks like the frame market, liberalism, etc. Etc. So, Really, 73 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 2: universities largely generate power for the powers that be. But 74 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 2: sometimes universities are also sites of power that can challenge orthodoxies. 75 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 2: With greater inclusion of scholars and students from a variety 76 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 2: of backgrounds, we get a diversity of thought, and because 77 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 2: of how universities are supposed to run in theory, as 78 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 2: governed by faculty and as sites of free inquiry. If 79 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,239 Speaker 2: that means sometimes occasionally knowledge is produced that can challenge 80 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 2: power too. That sometimes occasional knowledge production is too much 81 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 2: for the jd vances of today's politics, though, so they're 82 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 2: cracking down. The number two reason why universities are sites 83 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 2: of power is because they offer a promise of social mobility. 84 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:27,239 Speaker 2: And that's generally true too. Even the most modest regional 85 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 2: public school in America still offer some of the highest 86 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 2: quality of education you can get around the world. But 87 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 2: that shot at upward social mobility that you can get 88 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 2: with the university education is definitely getting harder and costlier 89 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 2: and less accessible. There's this book by Mark Busque I 90 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 2: highly recommend reading titled How the University Works. In it, 91 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 2: the author details how as universities became more corporatized, tuition increased, 92 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 2: university workers were disempowered, and the value of a degree plummeted. 93 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 2: And this process started way before Trump. Clifford Ando, professor 94 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 2: of Classics and history at the University of Chicago, wrote 95 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 2: for Compact magazine recently on what's happening at the University 96 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 2: of Chicago right now For those who may be unaware. 97 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 2: At the University of Chicago, the university is stopping PhD admissions, 98 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 2: it's increasing enrollment numbers, it's slashing budgets, it's even proposing 99 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 2: to teach some courses using chat. Gpt Ando argues that 100 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 2: this current dismantling of University of Chicago that we're witnessing 101 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 2: is again not Trump related, but can be traced to 102 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 2: this corporatization of the university, where universities prioritized money making 103 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 2: technologies and investments and as he writes, quote, fundamentally corroded 104 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 2: policymaking at universities. So to get a high quality education today, 105 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: at a university that isn't trying to trap you as 106 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 2: cheap labor or doesn't just use overworked adjuncts to teach 107 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 2: courses to avoid paying faculty they're worth, you need to 108 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 2: either come from money, or you need to be highly 109 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 2: highly exceptional, or you need to accrue exorbitant amounts of debt. 110 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 2: And yet, and yet, marginalized people still made advances in 111 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 2: this system. We saw, for example, more African American presidents 112 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 2: of universities, more women, We saw diversifying scholarship courses, pathways 113 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 2: for students, as universities became more inclusive. That's what diversity, 114 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 2: equity and inclusion efforts did. Imperfect as they were, and 115 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 2: even though the university as an institution continues to exploit labor, 116 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 2: continues to exploit their own students, often doesn't deliver enough 117 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 2: on the promise of social mobility. Even delivering a little 118 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 2: was too much for the Jdvans's of the world. They 119 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 2: don't want upward social mobility for some Americans, and they 120 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 2: don't want those challenges to power even at the margins, 121 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 2: so they're cracking down. The attacks on Harvard, Brown, George Washington, UCLA, 122 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 2: the list goes on, is predicated on attacking DEI diversity, 123 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 2: equity and inclusion. Conservatives alleged that universities taking a person's 124 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 2: background into consideration in admissions or in hiring, or in scholarships, etc. 125 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 2: All of that violates anti discrimination laws, and our conservative 126 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 2: Supreme Court, in its recent ruling in the cases of 127 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 2: Students for Fair Admissions versus University of North Carolina and 128 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 2: Students for Vera Admissions versus Harvard, agreed they overturned the 129 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 2: two thousand and three Grutta versus Bullinger case that had 130 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 2: allowed higher education institutions to consider race and admissions. And 131 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 2: all of this comes at a time after decades of 132 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 2: the university as an institution eroded itself. But I would 133 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 2: say attacking DEI wasn't effective enough, especially after the Black 134 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 2: Lives Matter movement. Saying DEI is bad is a harder 135 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,959 Speaker 2: sell for an American public fifty one percent of which 136 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 2: say they support Black Lives Matter, and this was according 137 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 2: to a twenty twenty three study by the Pew Research Center. Now, 138 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 2: fifty one percent isn't overwhelming, but it's not nothing either. 139 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 2: So conservatives to attack the university have had to exploit 140 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 2: the weaknesses that already exist within the academy. That has 141 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 2: meant exploiting the way the university as institution has become 142 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,439 Speaker 2: sensitive to money and endowments and donors, and that has 143 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 2: meant exploiting the way the university has not actually been 144 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 2: a site of free inquiry or expression for particular people 145 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 2: and particular topics. And by exploiting and expanding that gap, 146 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 2: they are now trying to take those freedoms away from everybody. 147 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 2: This is where Palestine comes in. The truth is a 148 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 2: tax on student protesters for Palestine, a tax on scholars 149 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 2: who work on Palestine or speak on Paliste. That all 150 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 2: started before Trump, and that has become the blueprint for 151 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 2: attacking universities and academic freedom. Generally, they're using the pro 152 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 2: Palestine protests, pro Palestine programming, or just any knowledge production 153 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 2: about Palestine as an excuse to allege anti Semitism. Enter 154 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 2: into these investigations and demand the universities do what they want. 155 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 2: After the Hamas October seventh attacks, we saw student protesters 156 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 2: detained like Mahmud Trilt Columbia and Remisa auster G at 157 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 2: Tufts and many more. We have seen diplomas withheld, like 158 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 2: what Virginia Commonwealth University attempted to do to many students, 159 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 2: including students sitty in Haded. We have seen professors put 160 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 2: on leave or fired like what Muhlenberg College did to 161 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 2: Moura Finkelstein. The list goes on and on, but again, 162 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 2: a lot of this pattern started before Trump. In a 163 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 2: November twenty twenty three poll conducted by political scientists Mark 164 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,800 Speaker 2: Lynch and Shibley Telhem called the Middle East Scholar Barometer, 165 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 2: the results show that sixty six percent of faculty members 166 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 2: who study the Middle East quote self censor when speaking 167 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 2: about the Middle East in an academic or professional setting, 168 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 2: and that number goes up to seventy seven point four 169 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 2: percent when talking about Israel Palestine. On the Israeli Palstinin 170 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 2: issue in particular, almost fifty two percent of scholars have 171 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 2: concerns about pressure from external advocacy groups, and of those 172 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 2: who said they self censor, a full eighty three percent 173 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 2: said the issue they most feel the need to censor 174 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 2: themselves about is anything related to criticism of Israel. This 175 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 2: is a crazy number if you consider that of the 176 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 2: same group, only one point six percent of respondents said 177 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 2: they censored criticism of US policy, and a full ninety 178 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 2: eight percent of assistant professors, untenured professors who work on 179 00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:00,679 Speaker 2: the Middle East quote field and new need to self 180 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 2: censor when speaking about the Palestinian Israeli issue in an 181 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 2: academic or professional capacity. Part of this story, the censorship story, 182 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 2: is the large scale adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance 183 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 2: Alliance definition of antisemitism. Back during his first term, President 184 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 2: Trump's Executive Order on Combating Antisemitism directed government bodies to 185 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 2: take the IRA definition into consideration when enforcing Title six, 186 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 2: which is a part of the Civil Rights Act of 187 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:34,839 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty four that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, 188 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 2: and national origin. The Biden administration didn't overturn any of 189 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 2: that either. They implemented that executive order themselves throughout their tenure. 190 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 2: And this definition is one definition of anti semitism that 191 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 2: critics say conflates criticism of Israel with anti semitism. In fact, 192 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,839 Speaker 2: the main drafter of the IRA definition, ken Stearn, has 193 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 2: expressed concerns that this definition is being used as a 194 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 2: quote blunt instrument to label anyone an anti semi and 195 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 2: it's for that reason that Human Rights Watch and one 196 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 2: hundred and four other organizations signed a letter urging the 197 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 2: UN not to use this IRA definition. As a result, 198 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 2: there are, of course, a number of competing definitions of 199 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 2: anti Semitism, such as the Jerusalem Declaration on Anti Semitism, 200 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 2: that has a more nuanced understanding of one criticism of 201 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 2: Israel becomes anti semitism. As their website notes, the Jerusalem 202 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: Declaration is a product of an initiative that originated in 203 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 2: Jerusalem and includes in their numbers international scholars working in 204 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 2: anti Semitism studies and related fields, including Jewish Holocaust, Israel 205 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 2: Palestine and Middle Ast studies. But of course the IRA 206 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 2: definition is the one that the Trump administration wants to 207 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 2: follow and the one that universities are adopting. Maybe it 208 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 2: goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. It's not 209 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 2: because this administration that engages with the far right and 210 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 2: propagates conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement, It's not like 211 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,959 Speaker 2: they actually care about anti Semitism. It's just a tool. 212 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 2: As Jewish organizations working to combat anti Semitism, such as 213 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 2: the Nexus Project explicitly point out, it's a way to 214 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 2: quote weaponize anti semitism by attacking free speech DEI foreign students, 215 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 2: and in this environment, we can understand why there's so 216 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 2: much fear to speak up and so much self censorship. 217 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 2: You can be falsely accused of anti semitism for bringing 218 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 2: up Palestine as a topic of discussion, for trying to 219 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 2: study what's happening, for trying to produce any sort of 220 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: knowledge on what's going on. I also really want to 221 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 2: underscore that this self censorship and fear that already existed 222 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 2: in a space in academia is a worsening trend today, 223 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 2: but it definitely existed before October seventh two. Take it 224 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 2: from me as someone who studies Palestine in American academia. 225 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 2: Palestinian scholars have long been on attack in the American academy. 226 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 2: But after October seventh, and before Trump, this of course 227 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 2: got worse. External actors and donors got involved in campus governance. 228 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: As we saw in Harvard and many other places, university 229 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 2: administrations cracked down on students, professors, everyone, often preemptively doing 230 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 2: the work of the right wing because they thought that 231 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 2: taking away freedoms from some groups wouldn't come back to 232 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 2: bite them. And this is how Palestine is now one 233 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 2: of the cudgels that Trump is using to attack universities 234 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 2: and the academy. And it's an effective cudgel because some 235 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 2: liberals in universities and outside universities can also be persuaded 236 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 2: to attack scholarship on Palestine and students who speak on Palestine. 237 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 2: But those exceptions to academic freedom that have long existed 238 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 2: in the academy are now being used to attack everyone. 239 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 2: A quick note here to outline what academic freedom for 240 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 2: a faculty member actually means. As the American Association of 241 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 2: University Professors the AAUP on their website academic freedom has 242 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 2: these main elements. Number one, the freedom to discuss relevant 243 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 2: matters in the classroom. Number two, the freedom to explore 244 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 2: all avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression, and to 245 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 2: publish the results of such work. Number three intramural speech 246 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 2: freedom from institutional censorship or discipline when addressing matters of 247 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 2: institutional policy or action. And number four extramural speech freedom 248 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:31,119 Speaker 2: from institutional censorship or discipline when speaking or writing as citizens. 249 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 2: So faculty members are allowed to speak on matters as citizens. 250 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 2: Being a faculty member and being a member of the 251 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 2: university community does not take away their right to be citizens. 252 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 2: That last one is worth emphasizing. To maintain universities as 253 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 2: sites of free inquiry and knowledge production, there has to 254 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 2: be academic freedom, and that freedom includes teaching, research, intramul speech, 255 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 2: and extramural speech. You can't censor people you don't like 256 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 2: or don't agree with think your institution and your university 257 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 2: will continue to function. You certainly can't do that and 258 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 2: think the right wing won't sniff it out and use 259 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 2: it against you. So what's to be done? Things are happening, 260 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,880 Speaker 2: People are fighting back, and just like Palestine has been 261 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 2: the Canarian the coal mine for so many things, including 262 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 2: the assault on American academia. Palestine may be one of 263 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 2: those crucial issues that helps academics and students and faculty 264 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 2: to organize in this moment. For example, because of the 265 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 2: arrests of pro Palestine students and their attempted deportation, the 266 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 2: American Association of University Professors, alongside the Middle East Studies 267 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:42,680 Speaker 2: Association and the Night First Amendment Institute, sued the Trump 268 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 2: administration over this policy of arresting and threatening deportation for 269 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 2: lawful speech on Palestine. The AAUP is also now ap 270 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,959 Speaker 2: plaintive in a number of cases challenging the Trump administration 271 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 2: on the tax on DEI, attempting to abolish the Department 272 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 2: of Education cuts, and federal funding of research except an 273 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 2: attacks on students and faculty after October seventh, which set 274 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 2: off this whole barrage of attacks on university since then 275 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 2: have galvanized people to demand their university administrations uphold academic freedom. 276 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 2: In twenty twenty four, nearly forty chapters of the AAUP 277 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 2: were founded or re established across the US, Even professors 278 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 2: who don't teach or study the Middle East or Palestine 279 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 2: are starting to speak out about the dangers of these 280 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 2: moments and these trends. I think people are starting to 281 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 2: realize that American universities will have to uphold their ideals 282 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 2: of faculty governance, free inquiry, free thought for everyone, or 283 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 2: they really will cease to exist. That's all I have 284 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 2: for you today. I'll be back soon to talk more 285 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 2: about the latest developments in Palestine. Stay strong, everybody. Thanks 286 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 2: for listening. 287 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: It Could Happen Here is a production of cool Zone Media. 288 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 289 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 290 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can now 291 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: find sources for It could Happen Here, listed directly in 292 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.