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By Lev Tsitrin
Let me start with clarifying the title. It is indeed a verbatim quotation from New York Times’ actual op-ed by one Mr. Gessen who poured his indignation on Brooklyn College for cancelling a previously-scheduled day-long anti-Israel hate-fest — except for its last clause, which I added myself, correcting New York Times‘ omission.
But Mr. Gessen is not just wrong; everyone can make a mistake, after all. He is disingenuous — as was the New York Times in publishing Mr. Gessen’s screed. Organizations have no obligation whatsoever to facilitate one’s speech, as every single news outlet knows full well — as was established (in the case of the media itself, in fact) in the landmark case Miami Herald v Tornillo which removes any obligations for press outlets to report perfectly truthful news they do not want to report, thus lying by omission. (Another landmark case, New York Times v Sullivan protects press lies made by commission).
A journalist, Mr. Gessen should know those basics full well — so why the faux indignation? Or if Mr. Gessen is unaware of those, how can he teach journalism at CUNY, which is one of the things he does, as mentioned in his op-ed?
Of course, being allowed all kinds of lies, journalists are an extremely cynical lot. I tried to bring to their attention to the fact that, for all the solemn affirmations that America is the land “with liberty and justice for all,” it is neither — the government all but blocks individuals from publishing their own books, handing the “marketplace of ideas” to corporations in a brazen crony capitalism and censorship scheme — but the likes of the New York Times cannot be made to report this grossest violation of the First amendment.
And if you try to use the much-lauded “justice for all” to restore “liberty for all” by suing the government to drop its censorship scam, federal judges will replace in their decisions your lawyer’s, and government lawyer’s arguments with the utterly bogus argument concocted by judges themselves so as to decide — in grossest violation of “due process”! — for the government. You sue those judges for fraud? They defend themselves with a self-given in Pierson v Ray right to act from the bench “maliciously and corruptly.” You go to the likes of the New York Times to make the public aware of the kind of “corrupt and malicious” “justice for all” we get in this country — but journalists don’t want to hear. New York Times’ editors and writers will twist in verbal agony, crying out in resentment of immunity judges gave to Trump — but as to the immunity to act “maliciously and corruptly” judges gave to themselves? Nothing to see here, folks. Move on!
So what are we to make of Mr. Gessen’s screed lamenting Brooklyn College’s cancellation of the speeches by a star lineup of Israel-haters like himself? That Mr. Gessen is a moron — and that the New York Times which publishes Mr. Gessen’s drivel is a hypocrite and a liar. The latter statement, in fact, should be added to the title of this piece in a yet another correction — so it reads The New York Times: “The Organizers Are Jewish. The Cause Is Palestinian. This College Won’t Be Hosting. Mr. Gessen is a Moron. New York Times is a hypocrite.”
Lev Tsitrin is the uthor of “Why Do Judges Act as Lawyers?: A Guide to What’s Wrong with American Law
