No, really. The speech was by Daniel Pipes, whose account is here. Unlike Pipes, I don’t see any reason to believe that the ACLU, as such, was behind the disruption, as opposed to the Field Organizer, a Mr. Bowles, acting as freelancer, as he acknowledged in response to Pipes’ inquiry. But (UPDATE: in response to reader inquiries, I’ve ascertained that Bowles does indeed work for the ACLU, for the Washington legislative office as National Field Organizer) it’s yet further evidence of the sad decline of the ACLU’s interest in freedom of expression and debate that it would hire officials whose idea of how to oppose ideas they don’t like is to engage in such antics. (Yes, Bowles led a silent protest, but it was a pretty clearly disruptive silent protest that took place during Pipes’ lecture, distracting the audience from his talk.)
Update: Speaking of Bowles, I can’t find any information about him on the ACLU’s official website, but some other sites identify him as the ACLU’s Terrorism and Civil Liberties coordinator (UPDATE: I’m still waiting to hear from the ACLU whether Bowles also holds this position). Do you think the ACLU could have found someone who doesn’t endorse terrorism? Here’s how Bowles concludes an article advocating an end to US aid to Israel: “For all the hype over peace camps and dialogue initiatives, until the structural inequalities are dealt with [i.e., until Israel capitulates completely, including allowing its own destruction by endorsing the “right of return”], there will be no justice for Palestinians and, thus, no peace for Israel.” Readers can judge for themselves, but I understand Bowles to be not simply making a positive statement–that terrorism will continue until Israel capitulates–but making a normative statesment endorsing the “resistance” actions of Al Asqa, Jihad, and Hamas, that terrorism should continue until Israel capitulates.
FURTHER UPDATE: Bowles is not only a supporter of Arab terrorism, he claims that the very concept of “terrorism” is a mere racist construct.
Comments are closed.