Thread by @JeffreyASachs

Holy censorship, @mcgillu! Administrators at McGill (my alma mater) threatened to pull funding for the student newspaper unless it printed a Letter to the Editor supportive of Israel and Zionism. Understandably, the paper capitulated.

Let me explain. It's complicated.

@mcgillu The McGill Daily is an independent, student-run newspaper that receives financial support from the university. Last September, it printed a glossary of various terms used in activist circles, e.g. sex work, gentrification, etc.

It also included this definition of Zionism.

@mcgillu Two McGill law students took offense at this definition and wrote a Letter to the Editor. The Daily's editors, however, declined to print it, explaining that its "dehumanization of the Palestinian people" violates their paper's anti-racism policy.

mcgilldaily.com/policies/

@mcgillu For reasons I'll get to in a sec, the paper was compelled this week to print the letter. Personally, I don't see how it runs afoul of The Daily's letter policy. It's glib, inaccurate, and probably offensive to Palestinians, but is well within legitimate discourse.

Here it is.

@mcgillu So shame on The Daily. But much, much greater shame on the McGill administration for *threatening to financially cripple The Daily unless it printed the letter*. You can read all about it here, but this is the gist.

mcgilldaily.com/2019/11/our-re…

@mcgillu And shame as well on Avi Benlolo, president of the @CanadianFSWC, for cheering the administration on.

jns.org/canadian-unive…

@mcgillu @CanadianFSWC And don't forget the hilariously mis-named @HonestRepCanada, which filed a grievance asking McGill "to conduct a formal investigation and to take immediate action to ensure that the Daily ceases it’s anti-Israel animus and avowed discriminatory policies."

honestreporting.ca/hrc-disturbed-…

@mcgillu @CanadianFSWC @HonestRepCanada Again, I believe the letter should have been printed. And for what it's worth (not much, I'm sure), The Daily's definition of Zionism is woefully incomplete. But NONE of that changes or mitigates the fact that McGill admins interfered in the paper's editorial process.

@mcgillu @CanadianFSWC @HonestRepCanada One more thing. Again and again in this story, you'll see reference to the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism, which Canada (sort of) adopted. @AHousefather assured us that this would not pose a threat to campus free speech. Mr. Housefather, you are wrong.
universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-…

@mcgillu @CanadianFSWC @HonestRepCanada @AHousefather h/t @mbueckert, who you may recall is being sued for defamation by an alleged alt-Right bigot.

https://twitter.com/JeffreyASachs/status/1100948508876652544