In the occupied Palestinian territories, civil society actors face mass surveillance, movement restrictions, arrests, and physical assaults. In Israel, various legal mechanisms are used to restrict speech and protest, and an organized campaign is under way to limit review of these measures by the judiciary. Meanwhile, in the United States, public and private efforts have been deployed to prohibit advocacy in support of human rights for Palestinians on college campus, in the public square, and online.
This edited volume gathers leading scholars to shed light on the various mechanisms being used to suppress dissent related to Palestine-Israel at home and abroad and explains why this presents an existential threat to global civil society.
Advance Praise
An urgent and compelling read…A must-read that envisions a future grounded in the self-determination and human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis.
—Tess McEnery, Executive Director, Middle East Democracy Center, former director for Democracy and Human Rights at the White House National Security Council
Repressing speech is never the end of a problem, but rather the beginning of a bigger one... Suppressing Dissent fills a gap in the policy community’s understanding of how shutting down discussion only fuels anger, limits cooperation, and undermines possibilities for peace.
—Sarah Yager, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch
No issue since the Cold War has tested our society’s commitment to free expression like the Palestine/Israel conflict. This timely anthology — examining censorship campaigns against dissidents and civil society groups in the United States, Israel, and Palestine, and the Arab world — is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the tactics of McCarthyism have been refurbished for a globalized Twenty-First Century.
—Brian Hauss, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
The Oct 7, 2023 attack and subsequent brutal war have catalyzed a series of remarkable changes in politics and civil society in Israel, Palestine, and the United States. This volume—in which a diverse intergenerational group of experts offer brisk, well-researched essays exploring recent developments and their less-known roots—is exactly the tool to help you understand those changes.
—Michele Dunne, Former Director of Middle East programs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Atlantic Council and former U.S. diplomat based in Jerusalem and Cairo.
It should be clear by now that the Palestinians will never reconcile themselves to the continued occupation and expropriation of their land, nor renounce their claim to statehood and national independence. Never has the need for a healthy, tolerant, and respectful dialogue to resolve the Palestinian question been greater. If we cannot engage in public discourse without fear of censorship or retaliation, the dream of a durable and just peace in Palestine-Israel slips further away. “Suppressing Dissent” shines a critical light on the shrinking civic space surrounding one of the most consequential political issues of our times.
—Martin Griffiths, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (2021-2024)
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