Forward: U. of Calif. Weighs Banning 'Hate' Speech

Could limit pro-Palestinian speech on campus

The University of California, birthplace of the 1960s campus Free Speech Movement, is now considering a proposal that would ban certain forms of speech as a result of a report on Jews and the Israel debate at its schools.

The July 9 report, issued by an advisory panel to UC President Mark Yudof, concluded that Jewish students sometimes face a hostile environment at UC schools in the form of anti-Israel protests. It recommends that UC “seek opportunities to prohibit hate speech on campus.”

The panel “recognizes that changes to UC hate speech policies may result in legal challenge,” the report reads. But it encourages UC to “accept the challenge.”

Yudof will make the final call on the recommendations; no date has yet been established for his decision. But Alan Dershowitz, a First Amendment lawyer and author of “The Case for Israel,” said he would challenge such a ban: “It’s a very serious mistake,” he told the Forward. “The first victims of the policy would be pro-Israel advocates. It will backfire.”