Jewish group rejects use of anti-terror laws to punish free speech and protest

Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff, a group representing university professors and other workers at more than 40 New England campuses, has accused the Trump administration of using anti-terrorism laws to punish free speech and protest.

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Equating protest with terrorism confirms the worst fears of critics in the early 2000s: that the so-called ‘War on Terror’ would undermine democratic society.

In a statement, the organization pointed to the United States’ August 26 designation of the British group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization and the subsequent freezing of its assets. CJFS said officials had used vandalism by Palestine Action members against arms manufacturers linked to Israel’s military as a pretext for the designation. Palestine Action is based in the United Kingdom, where authorities have also outlawed it.

The group also cited British terrorism-related charges against seven people accused of causing damage in 2025 at Turnberry, the golf resort owned by Trump in Scotland. It further highlighted the case of Fiona Godlee, the former editor of the British Medical Journal, who was accused of terrorism after holding a sign that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

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I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.

CJFS called on Jewish community organizations to condemn the Trump administration’s policy. “Equating protest with terrorism confirms the worst fears of critics in the early 2000s: that the so-called ‘War on Terror’ would undermine democratic society,” it said. Zinaida Miller, a Northeastern University professor and international human rights law expert, described such prosecutions as signs of an “authoritarian decay” threatening freedom of expression on university campuses and beyond. “Anti-terrorism laws offer supposedly democratic governments a way to suppress dissent and freedom of expression, particularly in defense of Palestinian rights, under the pretext of security,” Miller said. She added: “It is outrageous that both the U.S. and British governments are engaging in this abuse of power.”

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Anti-terrorism laws offer supposedly democratic governments a way to suppress dissent and freedom of expression, particularly in defense of Palestinian rights, under the pretext of security.

Aaron Shakow, a professor at Harvard Medical School cited in the statement, said that “abusing” anti-terrorism laws “does not protect Jews, either in Israel or in the diaspora.”

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Abusing anti-terrorism laws does not protect Jews, either in Israel or in the diaspora.