Tuesday, November 01, 2016

"A shadowy website targets student protesters with 'Classic McCarthyism'"

"The website, which was launched in May 2015, now contains profiles of over 600 individuals, most of them people of color. The site targets students and professors at universities across the U.S., in addition to a small number of people employed by Jewish Voice for Peace and other Palestine advocacy groups." "According to advocates, the "blacklisting" of activists on Canary Mission is part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestine speech, a phenomenon that they say has become particularly acute in New York. In June, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the nation’s first executive order mandating a withdrawal of public funds from any group or individual that promotes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The BDS movement, which is said to be inspired by the South African anti-apartheid struggle, calls for the economic, political, and cultural isolation of Israel in order to achieve three aims: ending the occupation of Palestine, ensuring the full equality of Arab-Palestinian citizens in Israel, and promoting respect for the Palestinian right of return."