The first casualty of war is the truth. Every war is also a war of propaganda. When, as in the present case, truth or moral correctness are not the monopoly of a single camp (which is rarely the case – although it can sometimes be), the result can be explosive.
Collateral victim linked to the previous one, and not far behind: freedom of expression. Countries at war, even those which, in essence, defend this freedom as a vital principle (example: Ukraine under attack), are almost always led to — or even forced to — restrict it.
What has been remarkable for several weeks is that the exceptional shock wave of October 7, especially in Europe and North America, a little less beyond (Africa, Latin America, and marginally in Asia – other world ), has exported these issues to territories which are not part of this war.
In France and Germany, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been banned. Protection against anti-Semitism or against the apology of terrorism – indeed present in certain demonstrations – was one of the arguments used by the French or German authorities to ban some of them.
Was there an abuse of such precautions? A tendentious use, more for one side and against the other? The fear is legitimate.
In Western societies, since October 7, and with a strong correlation which is not a coincidence, we have witnessed a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents: doubling, tripling, quintupling compared to the corresponding periods a year earlier ( Germany: +242% in the week following October 7).
Such a development was not observed for acts of anti-Arab or anti-Muslim hostility.
Certainly, the incidents reported range from simple graffiti, insults or racial allusions on social networks (the most frequent), to outright physical attacks: desecration of cemeteries, shootings at synagogues (Montreal), assault. All these cases also count when the specialized organizations do their sums and write their monthly reports.
Pay attention to the qualitative aspect of the “incidents” reported… But all this undeniably reflects a serious deterioration in the atmosphere.
This has resulted, among governments which otherwise have good diplomatic relations with Israel, with caution which can go as far as the stifling of freedoms. We noted (especially in October, less in November) an increase in complaints regarding the censorship of expressions of support for the Palestinians. All against the backdrop of a fierce ideological battle.
There have been banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Europe and the suspension of cultural events involving Palestinian authors. In the United States, activists have spoken of a “new McCarthyism.”
A month ago, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the award ceremony for Palestinian writer Adania Shibli was canceled. In response, hundreds of writers (including some Nobel Prize winners) protested: “Canceling cultural events is not a solution. » Coming from intellectuals, including Germans who know their history, the warning and its formulation are not trivial.
Quoted this weekend by the daily El PaísGreg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Free Expression, author of the book The Canceling of the American Mind (which has just been published by Simon & Schuster), comments: “The phenomenon is very real. »
And to cite hot figures on restrictions on freedom of expression due to the present conflict in American universities: 91 cases recorded by his organization since October 7, compared to 44 for the whole of 2022.
Coming from him, this intervention is quite juicy, because his usual target is left-wing “wokism” which stifles dissident voices on campuses. But in the case that concerns us, it is the pro-Palestinian left which sees itself censored.
The Palestinian question, in a tragic and bloody way, and with a violent, terrorist and anti-Semitic trigger – the October 7 aggression by Hamas – is today regaining its lost centrality. And pushes us to ask ourselves questions about our own freedoms.
François Brousseau is an international affairs columnist at Ici Radio-Canada. [email protected]