Yale University suspends Iranian scholar in AIbacked crackdown on Palestinian solidarity
Yale University suspends Iranian scholar in AI-backed crackdown on Palestinian solidarity
TEHRAN – USA’s Yale University has suspended Iranian scholar Helyeh Doutaghi, Deputy Director of the Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project, following a smear campaign by the AI-powered Israeli outlet Jewish Onliner.
The case underscores the escalating use of technology and state power to silence pro-Palestine voices during Trump’s second administration, exposing the hypocrisy of U.S. claims to defend free speech while weaponizing McCarthyist tactics against dissenters.
Doutaghi, an Iranian-born international law expert and associate research scholar at Yale Law School, was placed on administrative leave within 24 hours of Jewish Onliner’s March 3 article accusing her of ties to Samidoun, a pro-Palestine group sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
The Zionist outlet, exposed by Haaretz as an AI-driven bot network with ties to Israeli military entities, labeled Doutaghi a “terrorist” for her outspoken criticism of the Israeli regime’s war crimes in Gaza.
Yale conducted no independent investigation, instead relying on AI-generated disinformation to justify interrogating Doutaghi under conditions she described as a “predetermined guilty verdict.”
Denied religious accommodations during Ramadan and access to campus, Doutaghi condemned the university’s actions as “retaliation against Palestinian solidarity” and a “blatant act of Zionist McCarthyism.”
Yale’s links to war profiteers and Zionist donors
Yale’s appointment of David Ring from Wiggin and Dana for Doutaghi’s interrogation hints at a possible conflict of interest.
Ring, a State Department appointee and advocate for defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, profits from F-35 jets used by the Israeli regime in Gaza.
Doutaghi noted Yale’s financial ties to these firms, stating the university “prioritized Zionist donors over fairness.”
Eric Lee, Doutaghi’s lawyer, accused Yale of “bending the knee to Trump’s dictatorship,” linking her suspension to the administration’s “Catch and Revoke” policy.
This initiative, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, uses AI to revoke visas of international students accused of supporting Palestinian rights—a policy that entangled Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card-holding Columbia graduate detained by ICE for leading pro-Gaza protests.
Double standards in free speech
The U.S. government's selective enforcement of free speech is striking. While platforms such as Jewish Onliner are allowed to spread AI-generated disinformation unchecked, Iranian and Palestinian advocates face censorship, deportation, and even death threats for expressing their ideas.
The Trump administration’s designation of 60 universities under investigation for “antisemitism”—a pretext to criminalize pro-Palestine speech—highlights this hypocrisy.
Doutaghi warned that “Zionist McCarthyism treats solidarity with Palestine as a crime,” drawing parallels to Cold War purges in the U.S.
Khalil’s detention, she noted, exemplifies the criminalization of dissent: “This is not about national security—it’s about silencing resistance to U.S. imperialism and Zionist settler-colonialism.”
Her case has galvanized demands to defend academic freedom and Palestinian rights as legal battles continue.
“This is the last refuge of a crumbling empire,” she asserted, urging resistance against “brute repression masquerading as law.”
source: tehrantimes.com