Columnist Arrested for Defacing Pro-Israel Ad Claims Freedom of Expression

The U.S. Constitution is one of the greatest things about America.  It legally guarantees access to a number of basic freedoms for all citizens of our nation.  Freedoms that, in some countries, are simply unavailable to the general populace.  While each right is important, arguably one of the most essential is the First Amendment right to freedom of expression.  It was one aspect that truly set America apart when the country was first founded, and today, it also happens to be what causes the most debate.  Especially when it comes to the Middle East.

The latest controversy to spring from it involves prominent columnist Mona Eltahawy.  The Egyptian-born activist was caught on tape spray painting over a pro-Israel ad located in a New York subway station.  The tape shows Eltahawy defacing the poster as another woman attempts to block her.  The advertisement reads “In any war between civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.  Support Israel.  Defeat Jihad.”  The signs dot many New York subway stations.  They were purchased and put up by the American Freedom Defense Initiative and, unsurprisingly, they’ve stirred up quite a controversy in The Big Apple.

Eltahawy was arrested and charged with a number of misdemeanors, including criminal mischief.  While the possible sentences she faces aren’t anything too severe, the interesting aspect of this story involves her defense.  In the tape, Eltahawy can be heard telling the other woman that her act of vandalism was a protected form of free expression.  And apparently, her attorney is going with this as her legal defense, despite the fact that it’s absolutely wrong.

It’s common knowledge that the First Amendment protects one’s right to free speech and expression.  But what many people don’t seem to understand is exactly how that freedom works.

By its very nature freedom of expression means that every citizen is guaranteed the right to say or otherwise express any opinion they possess.  However, the caveat is that you can’t impede on anyone else’s rights in the process of expressing yourself.  People seem to forget that latter part, and indeed, it seems like Eltahawy and her lawyer are no exception.

While Eltahawy was certainly within her First Amendment right to spray paint her own message, by attempting to cover up the subway poster she was also simultaneously preventing another person from speaking their mind – namely AFDI and its members.  You see, by spray painting over AFDI’s message, Eltahawy was impeding on their First Amendment rights.  That’s a big no-no and is definitely not protected under the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has long held that the appropriate way for a citizen to counter speech they don’t agree with is by more speech, not covering up an opponent’s opinion.  In Eltahawy’s case, the correct response would’ve been taking out her own ads condemning AFDI’s message, speaking out and holding a rally against the organization, or any other way in which she could’ve voiced her own thoughts without trying to shut up AFDI.

Eltahawy’s vandalism was the exact opposite of freedom of expression.  The right is designed to encourage societal tolerance and debate.  It’s meant to keep the channels of communication open and drive people towards an equally pleasing solution through discussion.  Eltahawy’s actions weren’t only against the essence of America’s Constitution, they were downright tyrannical and disgusting.  And regardless of whether you agree with AFDI’s message, the solution isn’t to silence the other party, but rather to get your own message out.

So from a legal perspective, Eltahawy doesn’t have a leg to stand on if she’s planning on using the First Amendment as her crutch.  No judge in their right mind would buy such a ludicrous argument.

However, it’s probably safe to assume that the point of both her vandalism and subsequent legal defense isn’t necessarily to win her current court battle, but rather to spur greater action toward her side in the never-ending Middle East debate.  So from this point-of-view, Eltahawy is right on track with her strategy.

Though it still doesn’t make what she did any less unjustifiable or unconstitutional.