David Polansky: Is free speech suddenly freer in Canada than the U.S.?

NOTE: Due to a technical error from our host server, this episode of The Jewish Angle did not release as scheduled in RSS feeds on Oct. 23. We are publishing it today instead. We apologize for anyone sincerely irritated by missing their weekly dose of Phoebe Maltz Bovy's opinion—but, hey, at least you get two this week. The U.S. government has, in recent weeks, began cracking down on controversial speech within its borders—especially for non-citizens speaking out against Israel. It's a surprising turn of events for a country whose right to free speech has been codified into the First Amendment, putting into question whether the U.S. has fallen behind the rest of the Western world when it comes to speech protection. But according to David Polansky, a political theorist and senior fellow with the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy, countries like Canada and the United Kingdom are still far more restrictive with their speech laws, cracking down on in-person and online hateful comments with legal force. Yet the 2020s are still being marked by what Polansky has dubbed the "woke right", whereby American right-wing activists and politicians are dictating what is permissible public speech, much like the "woke left" did years ago. And at the centre of this debate are Jews, Israel and Palestine. Polansky explains more on this week's episode of The Jewish Angle. Credits Host: Phoebe Maltz Bovy Producer and editor: Michael Fraiman Music: "Gypsy Waltz" by Frank Freeman, licensed from the Independent Music Licensing Collective Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to The Jewish Angle