Sponsored by Resistencia en Acción, Princeton, New Jersey
Delivering the Goods
A friend handed me a hard copy of The New York Times he found on the train this afternoon, something I hadn’t seen or read in awhile. The reporting in the Times is unbelievable crap, but every now and then they’ll throw in an off-beat human interest story worth reading. Like: “The Cult Music Documentary ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ Turns Middle Age.” It’s about a cult film depiction of Judas Priest’s 1986 tour with Dokken, memorable to me because my friends went but I couldn’t, something I resent to this day. Continue reading
Graffiti, Hate Speech, and Free Speech
Statement to Princeton Town Council
400 Witherspoon St
Princeton, New Jersey
April 27, 2026
I’ve twice previously mentioned the Princeton Police Department’s decision to investigate anti-Israel graffiti as bias intimidation, mostly while discussing other things. In this comment, I want to focus specifically on the bias intimidation issue.
As you know, the issue arises from graffiti discovered in various places around town last August. The Princeton Jewish Center brought the issue to the attention of the Council, and the Police Department decided to investigate the graffiti as bias intimidation. Given the Council’s positive response to the Jewish Center’s input on the matter, I think it’s fair to conclude that the Council accepts the Police Department’s approach. Continue reading
A Question for the CPUC
Here’s a question I’ve submitted to be asked at the next meeting of the Council for the Princeton University Community (CPUC), to take place Monday, May 4, 4:30-6 pm, in the Multipurpose Room of the Frist Campus Center.
My name is Irfan Khawaja, I’m an alum of the Class of 1991. The University has recently called on alumni like me to “stand up” for the University, but it’s also insisted that it has no intention of disclosing “details about the holdings of its endowment,” to quote Vice President Hilary Parker from the last time I was here (November 11, 2024). The endowment reflects the acted-upon values of the university. So my question is: on what basis does the University expect alumni to stand up for a university that refuses to disclose what it stands for?
Deviant Causal Chain
I was just at a protest of the Iran War where a passerby accused us, heatedly, of “killing Ukrainians.” Of all the accusations directed my way in years of protests, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an accusation quite that baffling. By not fighting a war in Iran, we are somehow killing Ukrainians. No matter how I try to conceptualize this, I can’t.
There’s a cottage industry in philosophy on “deviant causal chains,” cases where an agent’s intention causes an action, but in an unexpected or “wayward” manner, leading to the intended result without genuine agency or control. Add this one to the list, I guess, but don’t ask me what happens next. Or what happened in the first place.
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MBS, LinkedIn, and the Business Ethics of Dismemberment
You can be kicked off of LinkedIn for all kinds of reasons: using a fake name or credentials; impersonating someone else; creating multiple personal accounts; sending mass connection requests to strangers; sending the same message to many people at once; promoting products or services in unsolicited DMs; bullying, threatening, or harassing another user; posting sexually explicit content; posting hate speech; and so on. Continue reading
ICE-Free Zones in West Orange
Back in February, I wrote a post called “ICE Out of West Orange,” and sent it to the West Orange Town Council. I’m gratified to see that West Orange Councilwoman Joyce Rudin has endorsed a version of the proposal I made, and done so for the right reasons. I don’t know if my post had any influence on her or not; my point is that what she’s endorsing is exactly consistent with what I said. Continue reading
NJ Transit: No Warrant? No ICE
Soon after she took office, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill issued an Executive Order (EO-12) requiring that ICE officers have a warrant to enter “nonpublic areas of State property.” On March 19 of this year, however, NJ.com reported that New Jersey Transit “buses, trains and stations” remain open to ICE officers without the need for a warrant–on the grounds that buses, trains, and stations are public areas of State property, hence not covered by EO-12. Continue reading
Free Speech in Princeton?
Statement to Princeton Municipal Council
400 Witherspoon St
Princeton, New Jersey
April 13, 2026
Hi, my name is Irfan Khawaja; I live in Princeton.
Given the dearth of information we’ve gotten regarding this draft ordinance about public demonstrations, I, too, would like to put this issue into a wider context.
In May 2024, the University shut down Gaza Solidarity Encampment, had some people arrested, and shut Cannon Green down to “organized activity” for the first time in 250 years. It’s been closed for two years now, and there’s no indication of when, if ever, it will open. Continue reading
Activist Interviews Page
I just created a new Activist Interviews page to house the Activist Interviews series I began this past January. I’ve so far only posted one interview, the one I did with Emanuelle Sippy of Princeton University’s Alliance of Jewish Progressives. Forthcoming interviewees include Sireen Sawalha, Sadaf Jaffer, Aditi Rao, Ana Paola Pazmiño, various participants in Princeton’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and many more. Stay tuned.
Policy of Truth 