Disturbing, antisemitic protests are on the rise in Canada. Do we let the terror flags fly?
One of the greatest challenges in liberal democracies is the tension between curbing hatred and protecting free speech. The 1977 case of a planned Nazi rally in Skokie, Illinois, is one of the most famous examples.
Skokie was a nearly half Jewish town and home to hundreds of Holocaust survivors. The Nazis planned to appear with banners and in uniforms with swastika armbands. Skokie officials tried to block the demonstration, and this led to a series of lawsuits. Famously, the American Civil Liberties Association (ACLU) took up the free speech rights of the Nazis, who were represented by Jewish lawyer David Goldberger. The case tested the ACLU’s commitment to the value of free speech in the face of abhorrent and hateful conduct by a small group of repugnant bigots.
