Be Careful What You Wish For

The furor about the Dutch film ‘Fitna” by Geert Wilders seems to have been short lived and, more importantly, non-violent. The lack of sensitivity which provokes anger and the right to exercise free speech and expression of thought are issues that have always been with us. Censorship of information is an ongoing battle in most societies because people differ on the kind of material, and the degree to which that material, is objectionable. One comment that was made in the press about this film concerned me, however, and it was that the UN should pass a resolution that stipulates no prophet or religion can be insulted, like the anti-Semitic law. I have to disagree. In the first place the intention of the anti-Semitic law was to protect the sensitivities of the Jewish people only and not all Semites which would include Arabs. But more importantly, this so called anti-Semitic law has been used to silence criticism and even discussions about Israel because anti-Semitic was immediately and tightly equated with anti-Israeli. The average American cannot easily publish or publicly call into question anything that might be interpreted as derogatory towards Israel. Most US Congressmen and media sources are intimidated into silence by this equation. This is not only a dangerous violation of one’s right to free speech it also keeps the Arab/Israeli conflict shrouded in secrecy and inaccuracies. One should use great caution when it comes to censorship laws because they can be stretched to stifle healthy dialogue and censor facts.

ASH