Stanford University recently threatened a liberal law student’s ability to graduate over a satirical post to an email listserv aimed at the campus chapter of the Federalist Society.
Absolving empire in Palestine | Palestine
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi caused a stir during a May 20 interview with CNN about Israel’s 11-day military offensive on Gaza by claiming that the Israelis are getting favourable coverage because of their “deep pockets” and “control” over the media. The CNN anchor conducting the interview, Bianna Golodryga, immediately dubbed Qureshi’s remarks “anti-Semitic” – a characterisation later repeated by the majority of US media outlets. Several American politicians, such as US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, also condemned the remarks. The charge was of course vehemently denied by the Pakistani government, which insisted criticisms of Israel were being conflated with anti-Semitism.
June 4, 2021
When news broke that Google’s now-former head of diversity Kamau Bobb had authored an antisemitic blog post back in 2007, the outrage was understandable. Comments like Bobb’s “If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war” are bigoted coming from anyone. But his role as “global lead for diversity strategy and research” at Google made Bobb’s sentiments striking in their hypocrisy.
Rather than firing him, Google reassigned Bobb to a different, STEM-focused role. It’s a decision bound to upset some people, particularly given the frequency with which antisemitism is downplayed as a problem.