Editor's note: This story was updated on Oct. 1 at 11 p.m. to take out the names of two sources who asked to remain anonymous because of safety concerns.
Some San Jose State students said they have mixed feelings on whether or not they support the cancellation of a Sept. 23 San Francisco State-sponsored webinar featuring a former plane hijacker.
The “Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice, and Resistance: A Conversation with Leila Khaled” webinar was canceled on Sept. 22 after Zoom received concerns that the event would violate anti-terrorism laws.
Khaled is a Palestinian activist known for participating in two plane hijackings in 1969 and 1970 for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is recognized by U.S. Bureau of Counterterrorism as a foreign terrorist organization, according to the U.S Department of State website.
Khaled was invited by professors from the SFSU Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas studies program and women and gender studies department to speak on her experience as a feminist and militant, according to the webinar’s website.
An SJSU communications sophomore, who wanted to remain anonymous for safety reasons, and who is a member of the SJSU Students Supporting Israel club, a nonprofit educational organization, said over Zoom that as soon as she heard about the webinar through the local Jewish and pro-Israel community, she created Facebook and Instagram posts informing people about the event and about Khaled’s background.
“Was she going to tell people it's OK to hijack an airplane? [If so,] I don't think that promotes women's rights,” she said. “If [SFSU] wanted to bring someone from a country where women's rights are not very big, then please do that, but don't get someone who has a history of terrorism.”
Directors from The Lawfare Project sent a letter to Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan on Sept. 14, stating that the company would violate U.S Code 2339B by providing materials and supporting the terrorist organization if the webinar aired.
The Lawfare Project is a nonprofit advocacy group that protects civil and human rights by providing legal services to Jewish and pro-Israel communities worldwide, according to The Lawfare Project website.
The advocacy group stated in its letter that Zoom needed to intervene because SFSU did not want to cancel the webinar.
Even after Zoom canceled the webinar, the SFSU studies program wanted to livestream Khaled’s speech on its YouTube channel and Facebook page. YouTube canceled the webinar half an hour in and Facebook blocked the event page before the program could begin the livestream.
Both platforms stated the event was blocked because it “violated their terms of service,” according to a Sept. 25 Golden Gate Express article, SFSU’s student newspaper.
SFSU President Lynn Mahoney responded to the situation by saying the campus supports free speech and academic freedom, according to a president’s message posted on the university’s website Sept. 5.
“As an educational institution, all are encouraged to invite speakers, take positions, engage in debate without fear of retaliation or censorship,” she said. “There is--and must be--space for all viewpoints at SF State.”
An SJSU economics junior who wanted to remain anonymous for safety reasons, and who is a member of the SJSU Students Supporting Israel club, said over Zoom he was disappointed by Mahoney’s response.
“Yes you have free speech, but . . . where is the line being drawn between free speech and someone who openly admits to causing harm?” he said. “It gets to a point where you don't know where that limit is.”
The economics junior, alongside members from AMCHA Initiative and Stand With Us, sent a letter signed by 86 organizations, including the Jewish Student Union at SJSU, to Mahoney disagreeing with her views on academic freedom.
The AMCHA Initiative is a nonprofit that investigates antisemitism cases at college, while Stand With Us is a nonprofit international education pro-Israel organization.
However, other SJSU students said the webinar shouldn’t have been canceled.
Moe Alnaqib, a biology senior and officer for the SJSU Students for Justice in Palestine said over the phone the cancellation of the webinar is another example of how Palestinian voices are silenced by society.
“You see [cancellations] whenever we have Palestinian speakers or activists. [There’s] always going to be somebody trying to stop them from speaking,” Alnaqib said. “Anywhere you think is normal interaction and normal thing of life, we [Palestinians] have to be a little more cautious.”
A political finance senior and officer for the Palestine support club, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said over the phone he was disappointed when the webinar was canceled and that overall it wasn’t fair.
“I could understand people’s perspective when someone says she’s a hijacker because everyone has their opinion,” the officer said. “But I think it’s always pretty normal for a Palestine voice to be shut down in everyday life.”
