What freedom of speech? The West must answer!

Mohammad Mahdi Abbasi, researcher in the field of American Studies

The Gaza war, with all its suffering for the oppressed Palestinian people and the sorrow it caused for every conscientious person, exposed the true nature of many slogans and concepts in Europe and America. Terms like “democracy,” “human rights,” and most importantly, “freedom of speech.” Western governments, who have long championed freedom of speech, often use sanctions, statements, and expressions of concern in international forums as leverage against other nations. However, the Gaza war has shown that the roles of accuser and accused have been wrongly reversed, and it is now liberal democracy that must answer for violating freedom of speech. The events of the past nine months clearly demonstrate this issue.

In the days following October 7 and the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, numerous journalists and reporters criticized the Zionist regime's crimes in Gaza. These criticisms were met with harsh responses from governments and the Zionist owners of media outlets. Lama Al-Arian, a reporter for Vice News, wrote: "I’ve heard privately from a lot of western colleagues that even tweeting about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could make them unemployable, so that’s why they’ve been silent." As the number of critics of Israel increased in the West, more journalists were fired. This included Michael Eisen, editor of the renowned journal eLife, and Hosam Salam, a photographer for the New York Times, both of whom lost their jobs for supporting Palestine.

Just a few weeks ago, during the height of student protests in support of Palestine at American universities, the Western pretense of free speech was once again exposed. According to the latest statistics, over 3,200 students, including around 100 university professors, were arrested by police and security forces during these protests in the United States. In recent months, numerous reports have surfaced about students and professors being expelled for supporting Palestine. One of the latest incidents involved the suspension of three Columbia University administrators for allegedly sending anti-Zionist text messages. This university has a long history of violating free speech and, after October 7, even banned groups like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) from operating on campus.

Additionally, celebrities in the arts and sports in the West have not been spared from this clear conflict between liberal democracy and freedom of speech. Melissa Barrera, the lead actress in the famous Scream film series, was dropped from the project simply for posting on social media in support of Gaza. Similarly, Dutch footballer Anwar El Ghazi was expelled from the German football team Mainz for protesting against Zionist actions in Gaza.

Even the self-proclaimed liberal democracies that advocate for free speech struggle to tolerate politicians who criticize the Israeli military's actions in Gaza. For example, a few months ago, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib faced condemnation from 234 members of the U.S. Congress for her anti-Zionist remarks, with many calling for her expulsion.

Recent actions by major tech companies further highlight that the private sector in the West is no different from governments in restricting free speech. Google fired 20 employees for participating in protests supporting Palestine and for sit-ins against collaboration with Zionist companies. Just recently, Meta banned the use of the word "Zionist" on its platforms.

Western authorities have even criminalized the use of Resistance symbols like the keffiyeh in many cities, going overboard with their actions. More astonishing is the German Parliament's recent approval of a ban on the "inverted red triangle," a symbol of Palestinian Resistance during the Gaza war.

In a message to the 58th meeting of the Union of Islamic Student Associations in Europe, the Leader of Islamic Revolution highlighted the "inability of liberal democracy to establish free speech." This inability has become evident to all after the Gaza war, revealing that the West can no longer accuse various nations of violating free speech as it used to. People around the world now understand that Western free speech is not as valuable as claimed, and that liberal democracy is the greatest violator of free speech globally.