Opinion: Broader examination of facts and relevant context justifies CU regents’ resolution in response to June protests
The resolution states that "(c)alls for 'intifada' are calls for violence and murder against the Jewish people, are antisemitic, and are racist in nature," and affirms the regents' commitment to create an inclusive community free from antisemitism and racism. The regents therefore "condemn SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) for its actions directed at Jewish people in the Town of Superior and Arapahoe County, Colorado."
In their Sept. 5 opinion column (" University of Colorado regents' resolution on 'intifada' undermines free speech and inclusivity "), CU faculty members Wadie Said, Joe Bryan, Beverly Weber, and Cheryl Higashida demand the regents retract this resolution, claiming it: 1) mischaracterizes the term "intifada," and 2) endangers free speech and academic freedom.
Examination of broader facts and relevant context justifies the resolution.
The regents passed the resolution in response to two protests organized by Students for a Democratic Society, held June 1 and June 17. While the op-ed states the protests occurred "outside the homes of CU Regents," it neglects to mention that the second protest specifically targeted the home of the only Jewish member of the Board of Regents, Ilana Spiegel . The first protest targeted the home of Board of Regents Chair Callie Rennison. SDS did not protest at homes of any other non-Jewish regents, suggesting Spiegel was singled out because of her religion.
According to Rennison and Spiegel , protesters chanted phrases including "From the River to the Sea," "Globalize the Intifada," and "Resistance by Any Means Necessary." These phrases became widespread almost immediately after Hamas' brutal attack Oct. 7, and are understood by many to show support for Hamas and its calls for repeated violent attacks against Israelis and Jews with the goal of eliminating the world's only Jewish nation.
These phrases are not understood to promote peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinians, a two-state solution, or any other solution enabling continued Jewish existence in Israel. The Anti-Defamation League considers the phrase "Globalize the Intifada" to be "generally understood as a call for indiscriminate violence against Israel, and potentially against Jews and Jewish institutions worldwide."
The op-ed attempts to sanitize the word "intifada" by pointing to direct Arabic translations, noting the word itself merely means "shaking off" or "uprising." Yet context matters. Understandings of the term as used today have evolved over time with awareness of notoriously violent attacks in Israel.
Most significantly, the op-ed entirely fails to mention the devastating 2000-05 "Second Intifada," where terrorist attacks targeting Israeli civilians in suicide bombings, shootings and stabbings in city buses, train stations, restaurants, shopping areas, nightclubs and hotels resulted in over 1,000 deaths and widespread suffering. In one month in 2002, there averaged a terrorist suicide bombing every two days. Even the First Intifada, characterized by the op-ed as "predominantly nonviolent," resulted in numerous civilian deaths.
While the op-ed authors and some protesters may disagree that calls for "intifada" necessarily endorse anti-Jewish violence, it ignores history and disregards listeners' fear and distress to suggest this is a universal truth. Like the regents, Jewish students felt threatened by SDS's "intifada" calls at Denver's Auraria campus , with some CU students even opting to leave school. If protesters targeted a regent of another ethnicity with equivalently hateful, violent speech, the public would expect similar condemnation.
The op-ed goes on to claim the resolution "impl[ies] that there will be consequences for use of the term 'intifada,'" and therefore chills free speech. Nowhere does the Resolution imply any official or disciplinary consequences. In fact, the Resolution reinforces First Amendment rights to even "hateful, divisive, racist" speech. What neither the Constitution nor the regents will guarantee, however, is the ability of protesters to engage in such speech without response or rejection, particularly where the speech affronts institutional values and threatens community members.
The regents may not forbid such speech, but they certainly don't have to approve or stay silent. Notably, the town of Superior , where the protest at Rennison's home occurred, issued a similar resolution condemning protesters for "hate speech, antisemitism, and racism." As Superior Mayor Mark Lacis explained, "silence on this issue is not acceptable."
Critique of the Israeli government and its policies is legitimate. Decrying the cycles of violence, tragedies and suffering of Palestinians is legitimate. If the June protesters didn't specifically target regents' homes with language evoking violence and antisemitism, there likely would be no resolution.
Instead, protesters chose to scream for "intifada" outside a Jewish regent's home. There are now no grounds to object to the resultant criticism of their speech.
Melanie Kay lives in Golden and is a teaching faculty member at the University of Colorado School of Law.
Mark Loewenstein lives in Boulder and is a Monfort Professor of Law at the University of Colorado School of Law.
Omer Mei-Dan lives in Boulder and is a Professor for Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine in the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Elyana Funk lives in Lafayette and is the Executive Director of CU Boulder Hillel.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the authors not in furtherance of university duties or in the course and scope of their employment, and do not represent the opinions of the University of Colorado or any other institution with which they may be affiliated.
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