The Arab American Studies Association stands in solidarity with students, faculty, and staff who are participating in the democratic process by engaging in peaceful protest and demanding a ceasefire and divestment from firms that support Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. We are alarmed at the violations of students’ right to free speech and dissent by university administrators at multiple campuses whose responses to student protests have ranged from evicting students from their dorms to suspending and preventing students from completing their coursework without due process. We condemn the use of militarized police whose brutal tactics against student, faculty, and staff protestors include confronting them in riot gear and tasers, throwing them to the ground, pushing through crowds on horseback while wielding batons, and pepper spraying peaceful protestors.
As a scholarly association dedicated to fostering the study of Arab American history, culture, and experience, we are acutely aware of how freedom of speech is suppressed when it comes to advocacy for Palestine. Many members of our intellectual community carry the burden of navigating coercive strategies that work to silence dissent in fear of doxxing, harassment, or job loss. While we oppose antisemitism, as we oppose anti-Arab, anti-Black, anti-Muslim, and all forms of racism and bigotry, we also reject smear campaigns that equate advocacy for Palestinian rights and condemnations of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza with antisemitism. We affirm our dedication to the idea of university life as a bastion for free speech, freedom of association, advocacy for justice, and student participation in campus and university affairs.
We demand the protection of free expression on college campuses, which includes upholding the rights of students, faculty, and staff to engage in peaceful protests and to organize walk-outs, conduct sit-ins, establish encampments, and host teach-ins to raise awareness about social justice issues, including the impact of Israel’s genocidal practices against the Palestinian people. These actions are the fabric of our democratic practice, which has historically been shaped by peaceful civil disobedience and public protest. We urge universities to welcome students back to their campuses, drop all charges against them, and allow them to complete their courses of study free of any additional hindrances. We call on all campus leadership to commit to freedom of expression and to engage in dialogue with students, faculty, and staff who express their views on Palestine and larger issues that relate to campus governance, funding, and civic engagement.
