What is freedom of speech and what is hate speech?

On Thursday, January 22, the Ethical Culture hosted and the group Laughing Liberally sponsored a fundraiser for the families of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

I don’t know the financial status of the families who have been victimized but, certainly, this is a thoughtful gesture and one I can commend. It is my understanding that the French government has also committed to providing for these families in their time of need.

The event will feature a large number of comedians, who will perform during the evening, as well as a panel discussion.

However, this event has another agenda and that is to show support for “freedom of speech and expression.” “Freedom of speech and expression” is like motherhood and apple pie, everyone is for it. But, what is it?

Dieudonne is a French comedian who has made anti-Semitic remarks and has denounced Zionism. He was convicted in court 8 times on ant-Semitism charges. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls stated that Dieudonné was “no longer a comedian” but was rather an “anti-Semite and racist” and that he would seek to ban all Dieudonné’s public gatherings as a public safety risk. The ban on his shows has been upheld by French courts. His humor has been labeled hate speech. Dieudonne insists that his speech is no worse than Charlie Hebdo’s cartoonish portrayal of the Prophet Mohammad.

French President Francois Hollande stated, “In France, all beliefs are respected.” Yet, French police arrested and charged more than 50 people, including 4 juveniles, with hate speech and expressions supporting terrorists. Remember, these are expressions, not actions.

In early January, France’s government developed a procedure which prohibits protests against Israeli actions in Palestine. Government officials claimed that they were concerned about the potential violence that such marches would provoke. Instead of arresting those who would attack people who were demonstrating peacefully, they decided to ban the demonstrations. So much for freedom of speech and respecting all beliefs.

While Charlie Hebdo mocks the Prophet Mohammad, Maurice Sinet, 80 years old and a cartoonist with Charlie Hebdo for 20 years was fired in 2009 for his anti-Semitic cartoons mocking the relationship of former French President Sarkozy’s son with a wealthy Jewish woman. He faced charges of inciting racial hatred. For those of you who are wondering how this story ended, Sinet won a 40,000 Euro settlement for wrongful termination.

Carlos Latuff, a world famous cartoonist raised the following questions, questions which I have been struggling with since the Chalie Hebdo killings provoked the issue of “freedom of speech and expression.”

What is freedom of speech and what is hate speech?

Why are some subjects protected by freedom of speech and others not?

Why can we mock some issues and cannot do so with others?

Should Holocaust denial be included as freedom of speech or racial hatred?

Latuff raises another question . . . did the editors of Charlie Hebdo die for a good and noble cause or were they provoking Muslims and feeding the hatred against Islam?

We now move to Israel, the bastion of democracy in the Middle East. On July 11, 2011, the Knesset passed a law making it a civil offense to publicly call for a boycott against Israel.

And then, more recently, as a result of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Haaretz published a cartoon juxtaposing journalists killed in Gaza last summer by Israeli forces with the journalists killed in the Hebdo office in Paris with the text, “10 journalists killed in attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, about 13 journalists killed last summer in attack on Gaza.

Ronen Shoval, founder of the neo-Zionist and proto-fascist Im Tirtzu movement, called for an investigation of the newspaper’s editors. Shoval, who is running in the primary election of the religious Zionist Habayit Hayehudi “Jewish Home” political party, called for the investigation “on suspicion of ‘defeatist propaganda’ under Statute 103 of Israel’s penal code.”

Another example that magnifies the dilemma of free speech versus hate speech is Israel’s call for a UN meeting to discuss what they have labeled an international rise in anti-Semitism. Israel appears to be basing their accusation on the growing angers and resentments regarding their policies and treatment of Palestinians. The question remains, can you express anger and resentment toward Israel without being an anti-Semite?

Israel has successfully thwarted criticism of their ethnic cleansing policies and actions against the Palestinians for decades by claiming that non-Jews who challenge these policies are anti-Semites while Jews who challenge Israel are “self-hating Jews.”

Where does that leave freedom of speech and expression? I am not aware of any free speech advocates speaking out about Israel’s repression of free speech.

I am aware that there are many legitimate anti-Semites out there in the world who would do harm to Jews for no other reason than their Jewishness. But, if you insist on a Jewish state, how can you claim anti-Semitism against those who criticize, not your Jewishness, but your state policies.

As I have pointed out on several occasions, free speech and expression is not an absolute right. Liberals who are fighting to protect this right, miss an important point . . . there will always be conditions as to what you say, where you say it, when you say it, and how you say it. The Charlie Hebdo affair is not really about free speech, it’s about using a public forum to foment racist expressions.

Although it’s a nice gesture to help the families of the massacre, I do not see anyone mobilizing to protect the right to free speech by Dieudonne or the victims in Israel of their penal code Statute 103.

It would make more sense to organize and rally around the whistleblowers who have been charged with crimes for revealing crimes committed by government officials as well as those journalists who publish these revelations. That’s a free speech issue I can get excited about.

Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.