Spotlight on Spring Palestine Protests: US Activists Speak Out Despite Backlash

As people of conscience around the world reacted to Israel’s intensified military and colonial violence against Palestinians throughout historic Palestine this spring, voices rang out from new corners in support of the Palestinian uprising.

In response, Palestine Legal witnessed a significant uptick in the amount and severity of backlash against Palestine advocates by Israel and its allies in the U.S.

Some of the backlash took a familiar form: Corporate censorship by social media companies, false accusations of antisemitism, and efforts to get people fired from jobs or kicked out of school all ramped up in intensity.

But as conversations around justice for Palestine reached new communities and areas of life, new trends emerged:

  • Teachers unions became hubs for activism.

  • Tech workers spoke out at Amazon, Apple, and Google.

  • The medical field and graduation ceremonies became hotspots for censorship.

We highlight here some of the major trends we witnessed in our cases and intakes and in the movement more broadly between May and June 2021.

Click through to explore the following themes in activism and backlash.