kolektiva.social/@DoomsdaysCW/… DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social - When Universities Become Informants

A practice from the #McCarthy era makes an ugly return.

By Judith Butler September 13, 2025

"On September 4, I received an email from the #UniversityOfCalifornia at #Berkeley’s chief legal counsel, David Robinson, informing me that my name has been handed over to the #Trump administration in a file containing allegations of antisemitism. A few days later, I discovered that the university had sent a list of 160 names to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The list includes the names of students, staff, and faculty who may well suffer serious consequences, including the loss of jobs, expulsion, #deportation, or harassment. This was a shock for many of us who believed that Berkeley is a university where one can expect support for freedom of expression and guarantees of fair procedure.

"Antisemitism must be unequivocally opposed along with every other form of racism, but there are campus protocols for investigating such allegations that ensure fairness and which, in this instance, were suspended by the administration. Moreover, it is important to consider which definition of antisemitism is at work. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which the Trump administration accepts, is overbroad, often equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. It acts as a cudgel against freedom of expression and dissent."

Archived version:
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#ExhumingMcCarthy #McCarthyism #Censorship #Fascism #UCBerkeley #AmericanUniversities #Capitulation #SilencingDissent #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism