Civil rights attorney charged over “disruption” of Israeli speaker

University of Minnesota Law School leaders say protest against Israeli army “ethicist” was an attack on “free speech.” (Jeremy Yoder)

Charlotte Silver-29 February 2016

Minneapolis prosecutors are charging a civil rights attorney for allegedly disrupting an Israeli speaker at the University of Minnesota last year.

Emails obtained by The Electronic Intifada show that the trial of Jordan Kushner is proceeding after the Israeli government-funded group StandWithUs wrote to city attorneys urging them to ensure that “the individuals responsible for the illegal disruptions are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

The case against Kushner, who has previously defended Black Lives Matter activists, appears to be another example of heavy-handed prosecution being used to silence free speech critical of Israel.

“Fabricated charges”

When Kushner sat down to listen to Moshe Halbertal deliver a lecture at the University of Minnesota Law School on 3 November, he had no desire to interrupt the speaker.

Kushner, who has been involved in Palestine solidarity work, expected activists to disrupt the lecture by a manwho helped draft the Israeli army’s “ethics code,” but was not planning to participate in the protest himself. He told The Electronic Intifada he wanted to hear what Halbertal had to say.

Before Halbertal began his lecture, which was titled “Protecting Civilians: Moral Challenges of Asymmetric Warfare,” approximately two dozen protesters entered the room carrying signs denouncing Israeli militarism.

After Halbertal was introduced by UMN professor Oren Gross, protesters stood up, one at a time, and called out various chants in support of Palestine, as this video, taken by another observer, shows.

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