When he arrived in Tel Aviv airport leading an official UN delegation, Richard Falk was detained and expelled by Israel, who refused him entry to Palestine to gather data first hand. He nonetheless reported back to the United Nations in 2008 that "Israel maintains its Gaza siege in its full fury, allowing only barely enough food and fuel to enter to stave off mass famine and disease." He asked the UN to evaluate whether "Israeli civilian leaders and military commanders responsible for the Gaza siege should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of international criminal law". On December 27 that year Falk condemned Israel strikes on Gaza as "war crimes", collective punishment, and targetting of civilians.
Falk was bitterly attacked by the US, Israel and the UK Governments for his findings. The murderous siege of Gaza continues in "in its full fury". Falk supports the Palestinian call for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel until it concedes Palestinian rights.
Today we are witnessing a concerted attack on free speech for Palestine as supposedly "anti-semitic", an evidence-free claim.
The attack is launched by a UK Government that supports every Israeli massacre of Palestinians, and is supported by pro-Israel groups who also endorse every Israeli massacre of Palestinians.
A letter from Minister for Universities Jo Johnson to all UK universities attacks Israeli Apartheid Week events and proposes a definition of antisemitism that would criminalise opposition to the crimes of the State of Israel. Universities in England have cancelled academic conferences on Israel-Palestine, and some have put pro-Palestine campus meetings under special measures - police in attendance, audiences restricted, requests for officials to check the content of talks beforehand. In Edinburgh, the City Chambers booking for Richard Falk to speak was cancelled because the topic was "controversial".
Falk sees himself as "an American Jew", which for him signifies above all, "to be preoccupied with overcoming injustice and thirsting for justice in the world, and that means being respectful toward other peoples regardless of their nationality or religion, and empathetic in the face of human suffering..."
Support these meetings by Richard Falk to:
• demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian people under a murderous regime "in its full fury"
• assert our right to free speech on Israel-Palestine in defiance of all attempts to stigmatise support for Palestinian freedom
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