Jews recently celebrated Purim, a holiday commemorating one woman's courage to speak, which saved the Jewish people from extinction.  This should be the rallying cry of every college campus – to allow for a dialogue of ideas to flourish.  Unfortunately, in America, free speech is under attack.  At the StandWithUs conference, a number of speakers discussed how the left seem to have a monopoly on the First Amendment.

There is a fine line between hate speech and protected free speech.  On college campuses today, there is one standard for groups on the left and another standard for other groups.  Prominent scholar and constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz said in a Q&A at the SWU conference, "On college campuses today, you cannot say things about minorities, Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs, but when you put the shoe on the other foot, you can say anything about the nation-state of Israel and Jews.  They make outrageous anti-Israeli statements, always making generalizations, and refuse to name names.  They always refuse to discuss specifics."

Dershowitz called for a National Documentation Center whereby every single college course, syllabus, and teacher's statements and actions are listed.  Noting that there would be a cry of McCarthyism, he defended it this way: "It is perfectly reasonable to collect data and information on the basis of what people have said and done.  Supreme Court justice Brandeis said, 'Sunlight is the best disinfectant.'  Nothing should be done in the classroom by professors that they are afraid will come out in public."  His goal is to stop the bullying and prevent faculty from one-sided points of view and force professors to discuss different perspectives instead of using their lectures as propaganda vehicles.

In an attempt to present different perspectives, retired Israeli soldiers are sponsored by SWU to speak to different groups and organizations.  Carlos is one of those soldiers, having formerly served in the paratrooper brigade as a squad commander.  Born in Colombia, after graduating high school, he decided to immigrate to Israel and find his roots, since his grandfather served in the Haganah.  He spoke with many Latino groups while touring America, hoping to make them understand that "they are not fighting for social justice, but are just fighting against Israel.  I tried to tell them, if they really support human rights, they should not believe everything told to them and should look at the truths, especially since Israel is multicultural.  In fact, the Latin American population is growing in Israel.  Hopefully, in the future, we can establish a friendship between the different communities in America and Israel."

Another soldier, Ilan, was born in Venezuela to a Christian father and a Jewish mother, the daughter of a Holocaust refugee.  Seven years ago, he immigrated to Israel after experiencing Holocaust deniers and attacks on synagogues.  He served in the Humanitarian and Civil Affairs Unit in the IDF, also known as COGAT, working with Palestinian civilians and representatives in projects focused on improving the lives of Palestinian families.  He told American Thinker, "I want to show that there is some cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.  For example, a four-year-old boy was evacuated to an Israeli hospital after the Palestinian hospital could not help him.  The child's father thanked the Israeli government for their action in saving his child's life."

But he also told of his experience in the U.S. at a university in Georgia, where demonstrators had hyperbolic pictures of Israeli soldiers killing babies during the last Gaza military action.  "They dropped the babies pictures on the floor.  We picked them up and told them they have no respect for human life.  The rest of the audience saw how Israelis care about human life.  My goal is to explain how in Israel and the Palestinian lands, people do want to achieve peace, and those on the left have an agenda that does not support this."

Another example supporting Ilan's feelings is Haytam, a Palestinian employed by an Israeli.  An article in the Observer says it all, titled "BDS Movement Backfires, Deals Blow To Thousands of Palestinians."  The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has an agenda, which is definitely not to help Palestinians.  They are attempting to shut down a factory owned by Israelis in order to economically and culturally isolate the Jewish state.  Yet they ignore the fact that Haytam will be unemployed and unable to support his family.  The article goes on to say, "Haytam's situation is not unique. There are many Israeli companies that employ Palestinians for highly skilled labor and value their employees of all religions and backgrounds. On average, Palestinians make double the wages as their brethren who work for Arab businesses. Often the wages are even higher or are equal to their Israeli coworkers. An estimated 120,000 Palestinians work for Israeli employers, and the Israeli government is hoping to add an additional 30,000 to that number."

Just as Esther stood up for her people, so are many supporters standing up for Israel.  Alan Dershowitz is correct in his arguments.  Instead of staying silent, people need to call out those who blatantly have a double standard and are spreading propaganda.  It is about time that the left understands that supporters of Israel will no longer stand by idly, and instead will face them and their lies head on.

The author writes for American Thinker.  She has done book reviews and author interviews and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.