February 3, 2025
Dear friend,
I have never been one to sugercoat things, and I am not going to start now. On both sides of the ocean, things have been pretty dark. Those of us who care about human rights are continually being hit with increasingly cruel and extreme legislation attempting to curb those rights. Which is why it is all the more important to share moments of inspiration when you experience them, that can inject a boost of energy in our shared fight against fascism.
On January 21st, ACRI and Haaretz hosted a conference, We won’t Shut Up, about freedom of expression and the ways in which this right has increasingly come under threat in Israel. More than 200 people attended the conference, which offered a variety of interesting, informative, and challenging ideas. But the undisputed highlight of the evening was the speech by Gadeer Nicola, ACRI’s Deputy Director and Head of the Legal Department. Gadeer spoke about how assaults against freedom of expression have already silenced Arab society, and how that silencing has been a harbinger for what is happening in the wider society. She pointed out that the true measure of a democracy is whether it protects its minority population and allows space for a multiplicity of narratives. And then she exhorted us: when fascism rears its ugly head, we cannot back down. This is a battle we can win, and we can win it together.
Below is an excerpt from Gadeer’s speech. I hope it affects you as much as it affected me and the hundreds of people who heard it.
A central danger when allowing harm to freedom of expression is the slippery slope. Once we permit and accept restricting another's freedom of expression, the restriction will spread and reach each and every one of us. Those in power won't give up on attaining more and more power and will expand the attack against any source expressing opposition, even against those who sit and watch what's happening in silence...
During this period, a series of bills are being actively promoted, aimed at imposing a policy of silencing and persecution in Israel's higher education institutions, not just against students but also against professors.
Against all these proposals and others, the Association for Civil Rights has fought in the Knesset and courts to protect all our rights as citizens and human beings.
Until October 6, 2023, the country was roaring with demonstrations and protests warning of a regime coup that would eliminate any sign of democracy that existed here. But just as those protests proceeded undisturbed without Arabs, so too did the gatekeepers and institutions of "enlightenment" continue to operate after October 7th.
A struggle for democracy without Arabs, a struggle for freedom of expression without Arabs, are struggles doomed to fail. Because of this simple truth: the true test of any regime claiming to be democratic is the status of the minority within it, and the true protection of freedom of expression begins with protecting the narrative of the other.
When the wind of fascism breathes down your neck, you don't bow your head hoping it will pass, you don't "sell out" parts of the public hoping it will satisfy the incitement machine. You fight fascism face to face, with the full truth, and without bending and compromising your principles. This is what history taught us. Otherwise, the winds of fascism will uproot everything...
Finally, it's important to remember this isn't a lost battle...
And we at the Association for Civil Rights will be partners in this journey. We will lead Jewish-Arab partnerships and work with anyone who holds these values dear – until it's better here.
Those of you who understand Hebrew can watch the video here.
Be our partners on this journey, as we lift our heads to face off against fascism. Because if we work together, one day it will be better here. Donate Now.