On the Nose

Preparing for Trump’s Repression

Dec 19, 2024

Emma Saltzberg, US strategic campaigns director for Diaspora Alliance, and Dylan Saba, staff attorney at Palestine Legal, delve into the implications of a potential Trump administration for pro-Palestine activism. They discuss alarming tactics aimed at silencing dissent, including targeting student organizers and legislative threats against nonprofits. The duo analyzes the misuse of civil rights laws and the chilling effects of proposed policies, stressing the importance of solidarity among activist groups to counter repression and promote civil liberties.

51:15

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Episode guests

Emma Saltzberg

Dylan Saba

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Quick takeaways

The Trump administration's impending policies may exploit anti-discrimination laws to stifle pro-Palestinian activism and dissenting political views.

Project Esther's framing of pro-Palestine organizations as terror affiliates could legitimimize governmental repression and threaten civil liberties for activists.

Deep dives

Impacts of Trump's Administration on Pro-Palestine Activism

The policies of a Republican trifecta under Trump pose significant risks for supporters of Palestinian rights, particularly in the context of heightened repression. Appointments such as Pam Bondi for Attorney General suggest a willingness to revoke visas of pro-Palestinian activists, which indicates a potential crackdown on pro-Palestine activism. Additionally, proposed legislation allows the government to strip tax-exempt status from nonprofits deemed supportive of terrorism, raising concerns about due process and the definition of terrorism itself. This environment fosters fear and uncertainty among activists, threatening the very existence of Palestine organizing within the U.S.

Intro

2min

Anticipating Repression: Policy Concerns for Pro-Palestine Activism

5min

Title VI and Political Repression

24min

Repression and Resistance: Campus Activism in Focus

9min

H.R. 9495 and the Battle for Nonprofit Freedoms

6min

Navigating Political Divisions and the Palestine Movement

2min

Navigating Political Repression and Its Wider Implications

4min

Since October 2023, Palestine solidarity activists have faced a climate of McCarthyist repression, and all signs point to the incoming Trump administration escalating that campaign to silence the anti-genocide movement. Trump’s cabinet appointees and supporters have embraced plans to revoke visas of pro-Palestine student organizers, sue colleges to ensure they crack down on protesters, subject anti-Zionist students to FBI questioning, and more—all in the name of fighting antisemitism.

In this episode, associate editor Mari Cohen and senior reporter Alex Kane join Emma Saltzberg, US strategic campaigns director for Diaspora Alliance, and Dylan Saba, a staff attorney at Palestine Legal and a contributing writer at Jewish Currents, to discuss the possible shape of the Trump repression regime. We discuss the use of civil rights law to quash student protest, the Heritage Foundation’s unnerving “Project Esther” blueprint for suppressing the Palestine solidarity movement, and Congressional attempts to attack the nonprofit status of anti-Zionist groups. We also analyze the multiple right-wing approaches at play—including the distinct but sometimes overlapping “anti-discrimination” and “anti-terrorism” paradigms—and consider possibilities for mobilizing a broader liberal-left coalition to oppose these strategies.

Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Texts Mentioned and Further Resources:

“Trump DOJ civil rights pick blasted campus protests, opposed Antisemitism Awareness Act,” Marc Rod, Jewish Insider

“The Biden-Harris administration has failed to combat campus antisemitism,” Jonathan Pidluzny, America First Policy Institute

“Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi: 5 things Jews should know,” Lauren Markoe, Forward

“The civil rights law shutting down pro-Palestine speech,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents

“Linda McMahon meets with Senators, addresses approach to fighting antisemitism,” Emily Jacobs, Jewish Insider

“Project Esther,” The Heritage Foundation

“Evangelical Christians are politicizing the Jewish story of Esther,” Jane Eisner, The Washington Post

“Congressional Republicans launch 'fishing expedition' against progressive, Jewish, and Palestinian nonprofits,” Matthew Petti, Reason

“Virginia judge denies pro-Palestinian group’s bid to limit attorney general’s demand for documents,” Dean Mirshahi, WRIC ABC 8News