‘Free Expression’ Group Retracts Statement in Support of Cancelled Israeli Comedian
A “free expression” group gave its tacit approval to using heckler’s vetoes against comedians it does not like.
A “free expression” group that claims to fight for “the power of the word” recently showed its true colors after a mob forced the cancellation of shows by an Israeli comedian.
“PEN American stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide,” according to its website. The group proclaims its support for “freedom of expression” on college campuses.
Yet this firm commitment to free speech does not extend to Guy Hochman, an Israeli comedian. Pro-Palestinian groups have targeted Hochman because of his support for Israel, which includes performing comedy shows for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The groups accuse him of supporting what they say is unjustified military action in Gaza.
“A mob in New York City blocked the entrance and a Los Angeles venue demanded that he issue a statement accusing Israel of ‘genocide, rape, starvation, and torture of Palestinian civilians,'” the Washington Free Beacon reported. The Los Angeles theatre later apologized for cancelling Hochman’s show.
Mobs forcing the cancellation of events is a classic example of the heckler’s veto, particularly when people block an entrance so no one can see a show.
PEN America initially agreed with this sentiment, calling the New York blockade “a profound violation of free expression to demand artists, writers, or comedians agree to ideological litmus tests as a condition to appear on a stage,” according to the Free Beacon.
It then ran away from that Jan. 29 statement.
On Feb. 3, it posted on its website:
On January 29, 2026, PEN America issued a statement on the abrupt cancellation of performances in New York and Los Angeles by an Israeli comedian, who has been accused by advocacy organizations of incitement to genocide in Gaza. On further consideration, PEN America has decided to withdraw this statement. We remain committed to open and respectful dialogue about the divisions that arise in the course of defending free expression.
While it is not clear why PEN America rescinded the statement, the Free Beacon pointed out a double standard by the group:
Its “Writers at Risk” list includes Khalida Jarrar, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group; PFLP member Rasem Obaidat; and Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian activist who wrote in a public message to Israelis: “We’ll slaughter you, and you’ll say that what Hitler did to you was a joke. We’ll drink your blood and eat your skulls.”
“In 2024, anti-Israel activists launched a pressure campaign to oust longtime PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, a former Hillary Clinton official, over her support for Israel,” the Free Beacon noted.
Some people might find Hochman’s comments about Gaza distasteful or even offensive. But PEN America has previously stood up for what many would view as offensive, if not inciteful, speech.
In 2023, it defended a Wayne State University professor who said: “I think it is far more admirable to kill a racist, homophobic, or transphobic speaker than it is to shout them down.”
PEN America defended the comments as “satire” and “humor.”
The group also regularly warns about (so-called) “banned books,” which are often sexually explicit books that schools or libraries make unavailable to young kids without their parents’ permission.
The “free expression” group’s position on Hochman and “banned books” could not be farther apart.
Adults in New York and Los Angeles should not be free to pay money to go see an Israeli comedian tell jokes in a private venue, PEN America seems to argue. But little kids must be allowed to look at pornographic books in a school library without their parents’ knowledge, or that is an assault on free speech.
Now, at least, people know how deep PEN America’s commitment to “free expression” really is.
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Comments
I’m so tired of the obnoxious and wicked antics of the pro-Islamofascist/Muslim terrorist Dhimmi-crats. I’m tired of their incessant and stupid cults of Islamo-flattery, Islamo-hagiography, Islamo-revisionism, Islamo-victimology, and, the propaganda mythology of the allegedly noble/victimized/powerless Arab Muslims.
Genocidal Arab Muslim invaders from Arabia who’ve brazenly co-opted the name of an ancient Roman province that pre-dates Islam by 600 years, are not “victims” in any way, shape or form.
Nearly every organization is taken over by the left eventually
1. Identify a respected institution.
2. kill it.
3. gut it.
4. wear its carcass as a skin suit, while demanding respect.
– David Burge
The rabies virus of modern society.
O’Sullivan’s Law: All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing.
(He called this his first law, but it’s been 36 years and I’m not aware that he has ever proposed any others. I suppose he was just planning for the contingency. And since he’s still with us he still might.)
I’m pretty surprised at PEN, they produced alot of videos with Thomas Sowell who has never been afraid of expressing his views.
Robert Conquest’s Three Laws of Politics:
1) Generally speaking, everybody is a reactionary on subjects he knows about.
2) Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing.
3) The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.”
Conquest only formulated two laws. The second one in your list has nothing to do with Conquest, though he may well have agreed with it. It’s by John O’Sullivan.
The idea that it’s by Conquest comes from a mistake John Derbyshire once made.
As always, wrong.
Based on the context of political and organizational laws, Conquest’s Laws (formulated by Robert Conquest) generally came first, with the specific Second Law predating the formal recognition of O’Sullivan’s Law.
Conquest’s Laws: Robert Conquest (1917–2015) is best known for his “Three Laws of Politics,” with the most famous—”Any organization not explicitly right-wing will eventually become left-wing”—being formulated earlier in the 20th century.
O’Sullivan’s Law: Attributed to journalist John O’Sullivan (born 1942), this law (“All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing”) is actually a restatement or synonym of Conquest’s second law. While John O’Sullivan is a contemporary, his “law” became recognized later as a restatement of the phenomenon earlier observed by Conquest.
The major difference, ‘explicitly’ versus ‘actually’ is important.
Explicitly puts the right wing nature of the organization out in from when the left will shriek about it.
Actually leaves ‘right wing’ able to be hidden, and when it’s hidden, it goes away.
As usual Azathoth the demon must always lie and lie and lie.
O’Sullivan’s law was only ever formulated by O’Sullivan. It was not a restatement of anything, it was the result of his own observations. Conquest never wrote such a law, ever. You cannot find it anywhere in his writings. Conquest only formulated two laws, not three, and any notion that he had three laws derives entirely from Derbyshire’s erroneous memory.
‘Nice/popular’ speech that 99% of people agree with doesn’t need protection, its the ‘offensive/unpopular’ speech that 99% of people disagree with that requires protection. Allowing a mob to dictate what speech is allowed or worse a heckler’s veto extortion attempt in order to compel the heckler’s preferred speech are definitely not the actions of an organization committed to free expression, open debate and good faith exchange of ideas opinions.
I wonder, absent any clause in the contract stating otherwise, could Guy Hochman institute a lawsuit for breach of contract against the theatre and its owners? Just asking.
eot
Sure because the “free” here means the exact opposite. All leftist organisations use/distort the meaning of words to manipulate their followers. This is an example: PEN decides what “free expression” is and it’s not for Israeli comedians.
omg! the left is showing its hypocrisy
who knew??!?!!?
get real
they are trouncing freedoms the world over and like hits lers in his early daze
will be allowed to take back what they say is theirs
until or unless the meet with resistance
Wokeness is basically a religion. Obama is Jesus, Trump is Satan and being born white is the new original sin.