Ronald “Ron” W. Fox is a lawyer from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Fox submitted an opinion piece to the Jewish Journal reviewing the May 2019 Media Education Foundation “Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights” program. Fox “urge[s] those in the Jewish community with our history of learning and seeking truth (and speaking truth to power) to end smear attacks, demonization and intimidation and create opportunities to engage in thoughtful honest discussions about the current status and situation of the Palestinians.”
A panel discussion at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst discussed efforts to silence pro-Palestinian voices. There had been many efforts to prevent the panel discussion from happening, claiming that the panel was anti-Semitic. Writing in The Jewish Journal, Ronald Fox describes his impressions of the U. Mass “Not Backing Down” panel discussion.
Fox pointed out that those who were against the panel discussion “did not mention: Israel’s 50-year illegal occupation; the numerous illegal settlements; the killing and injuring of Palestinians; the claims of torture; the theft of Palestinian lands; the control of part of the West Bank; the house demolitions; the wall inside the Green Line; the destruction of olive trees; the unequal distribution of water; the disruptive, humiliating checkpoints and barriers; and the holding of Palestinians in administrative detention without charges or trial.”
To read all of Fox’s comment, click here.
