Image by columbia u.

Judith Butler and Rashid Khalidi are circulating a letter objecting to retaliation against those who support boycotts of Israel.

Both Butler and Khalidi recently had events canceled at Jewish institutions after critics raised objections to their views on Israel. Butler, a literary theorist affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, pulled out of a talk on Franz Kafka that she had been scheduled to deliver in March at New York’s Jewish Museum amid protests over her support for boycotting Israel.

Khalidi, a professor at Columbia University who supports the legitimacy of resistance against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, was disinvited from giving a talk to students at Ramaz, a modern Orthodox high school in New York.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Whether one is for or against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as a means to change the current situation in Palestine-Israel, it is important to recognize that boycotts are internationally affirmed and constitutionally protected forms of political expression,” says Butler and Khalidi’s letter, which has approximately 150 co-signers, including academics and artists.

The letter notes that there is proposed legislation under debate in New York, Maryland and Illinois that threatens academic funding on the basis of criticism of the Israeli government.

“As non-violent instruments to effect political change, boycotts cannot be outlawed without trampling on a constitutionally protected right to political speech,” the letter says. “Those who support boycotts ought not to become subject to retaliation, surveillance, or censorship when they choose to express their political viewpoint, no matter how offensive that may be to those who disagree.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount