Israel should receive America's continuing care and assistance while those who have expressed support for Palestinians should have their rights protected, constitutional lawyer Jonathan Turley told Newsweek.
Turley, a professor at The George Washington University Law School and a former GOP witness during one of President Donald Trump's impeachment trials, detailed his thoughts in a blog post published Wednesday. He discussed the varied reactions for and against Israel and the Palestinians following Saturday's attacks by Hamas, a militant group characterized by the U.S. as a terror organization.
President Joe Biden referenced the "sheer evil" of Hamas' aggression. Turley specifically referenced statements made by college students, university groups and Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapters in the days since.
"The BLM and other statements obviously cause greater trauma for many in our community who are grieving those killed or captured in Israel," Turley wrote. "However, we should direct our efforts at assisting those who have lost loved ones in Israel rather than censoring others."
BLM Grassroots is one of the groups that has come out in full-throated defense of Palestinians, which in a statement following the weekend's attacks said that it "stands in solidarity with our Palestinian family who are currently resisting 57 years of settler colonialism and apartheid."
The comments resulted in widespread criticism, including from former members who claimed to have denounced their association with BLM. Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Amar'e Stoudemire, who is Black and converted to Judaism in 2020, ridiculed the organization for its silence directly following the events.
Turley clarified to Newsweek that in his blog posthe was referring to assisting those grieving the losses in Israel, as well as calling on universities to assist faculty and students who have lost loved ones.
"I am opposing efforts to defund groups due to their underlying ideology, including pro-Palestinian groups," he said. "I am also opposing calls to bar law students from becoming lawyers due to anti-Israeli sentiments.
"I am not defending the underlying views. Hamas is guilty of crimes against humanity in this massacre, in my views. I find any support for this attack to be reprehensible. However, the test of free speech principles is to protect views with which you may vehemently disagree."
A spokesperson for the main/global BLM organization also told Newsweek via email that they had no comment regarding the Grassroots chapter's comments and expressed the lack of affiliation with such groups.
A statement by 35 Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups against Israel also made headlines.
"We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence," the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine said in a joint statement posted on social media.
A similar statement was issued by Ryna Workman, student president of the New York University (NYU) Law School Bar Association, in which a statement in a school newsletter advocated "unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination."
"Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life," the statement reads in part. "This regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary. I will not condemn Palestinian resistance."
It resulted in the rescinding of an employment offer by the law firm Winston & Strawn, which said in its own statement that Workman's comments "profoundly conflict with Winston & Strawn's values as a firm."
"Winston stands in solidarity with Israel's right to exist in peace and condemns Hamas and the violence and destruction it has ignited in the strongest terms possible," their statement reads. "We look forward to continuing to work together to eradicate anti-Semitism in all forms and to the day when hatred, bigotry and violence against all people have been eliminated. Our strength lies in our unity, empathy and shared humanity."
Turley said that the different shows of support for Palestinians have different legal ramifications. The NYU case, for one, is not bound under the First Amendment because the law firm is a private entity.
He said that even while many, including himself, are disgusted with the atrocities committed by Hamas, U.S.-based institutions should maintain core free speech protections—freedoms allotted to American citizens that militant groups like Hamas have traditionally opposed, including the right to life as evidenced by recent actions.
"In my view, support for the Palestinian cause could never justify support for this attack," Turley said. "Yet, the greatest losses to free speech have come during these moments when most of us are angered and appalled by the views of others.
"We should not repeat that cycle in our history. Instead, I believe we should focus our attention on our faculty and students who are grieving losses from this attack or searching for those still missing."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
