Tag Archives: Free Speech

Rep. Pocan on Israeli police violence at Sheikh Jarrah

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Israeli forces detain a man after storming Palestinian houses whose families face eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, 4 May 2021 (AFP)

Lubna Masarwa, Mustafa Abu Sneineh, Middle East Eye, 5 May 2021

Israeli military police stormed Palestinian houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, attacking activists taking part in a sit-in solidarity protest with residents facing imminent eviction.

Three Palestinians were arrested and six injured, local sources told Middle East Eye. The Red Crescent reported that two Palestinians had been hospitalised.

Since the beginning of 2020, Israeli courts have ordered the eviction of 13 Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, a residential area less than a kilometre away from the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Muna al-Kurd, who was attacked on Tuesday evening, told MEE that if Israeli police and settlers take over their houses, “then they will take the whole neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah”.

‘The police attacked the residents and activists who were there in solidarity with us. They brutally beat everyone with batons, sprayed skunk water and dispersed people with mounted horses’

– Abdel Fattah Iskafi, resident

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Cornel West on Palestine

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Useful Idiots, Apr 30, 2021

Friend-of-show Dr. Cornel West has been in the news a lot of late, and not always in a happy way. At the end of February, the brilliant professor of Philosophy, Divinity, and African-American studies announced he was leaving his longtime employers at Harvard University, and moving back to Union Theological Seminary, where he began his teaching career back in 1977. Harvard denied his request to be considered for tenure, apparently for political reasons.

On Useful Idiots, West talked about the likely reasons behind Harvard’s decision (outspokenness on Palestine?), Joe Biden’s first 100 days, and the influence of his late mother Irene B. West.

Also: Matt and Katie debate how many Secret Service agents it takes to get Mike Pence up a ski hill, we denounce the deeply unfunny campaign against the #YangGang​, and we give detailed reviews of all of the movies nominated for Best Picture from this year’s Academy Awards ceremony (without seeing them of course). Is Nomadland a space adventure? Is Mank a misspelled fur-bearing animal? What’s the over/under on debilitating-disease themes for next year’s Oscars?

We explore all these important questions, and more, on this week’s Useful Idiots.

April 14, 2021
Webinar: The Movement Will Not Be Censored

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On Wednesday, April 14, join us for a powerhouse event on Palestine advocacy and how to push back against attacks on the movement.

The panel will feature Sumaya Awad of Adalah Justice Project, Beth Miller of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, and Palestine Legal client and Florida State University student Ahmad Daraldik. Senior staff attorney Meera Shah will be moderating.

Register Here to receive a reminder and link to the webinar and to submit your questions for the panel.

You can also watch without registering on the sponsors' Facebook pages:

The Eighth Circuit’s Narrow Decision About Arkansas BDS

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One provision has been invalidated, but the general ban on boycotts of Israel by most state government contractors still stands.

, Reason, 2.14.2021

An Arkansas statute generally bans the government from contracting with companies that are boycotting Israel. It defines such boycotts as

  • “engaging in refusals to deal,
  • terminating business activities,
  • or other actions that are intended to limit commercial relations with Israel, or persons or entities doing business in Israel or in Israeli-controlled territories, in a discriminatory manner” (bullets added).

District Court Judge Brian S. Miller refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the statute, and granted the state’s motion to dismiss the challenge. The court concluded that “other actions …” should be read as dealing with other commercial behavior, and not, say, speech urging boycotts:

While the statute also defines a boycott to include “other actions that are intended to limit commercial relations with Israel,” this restriction does not include criticism of Act 710 or Israel, calls to boycott Israel, or other types of speech. Familiar canons of statutory interpretation, such as constitutional avoidance and [ejusdem] generis [“[w]here general words follow specific words in a statutory enumeration, the general words are construed to embrace only objects similar in nature to those objects enumerated by the preceding specific words”], counsel in favor of interpreting “other actions” to mean commercial conduct similar to the listed items.

And as thus limited to commercial behavior, the court held, the statute likely didn’t violate the First Amendment. (Michael Dorf, Andrew Koppelman, and I filed an amicus brief on appeal agreeing that the law is constitutional if read as limited to commercial refusals to deal.)

Friday, the Eighth Circuit (in an opinion by Judge Jane Kelly, joined by Judge Michael Melloy, with Judge Jonathan Kobes dissenting) interpreted the “or other actions” clause more broadly, to include speech promoting boycotts, and therefore held that the law was unconstitutional. The majority expressly didn’t opine on the constitutionality of the “refusals to deal [or] terminating business activities” portion of the law; the majority said,

Assuming without deciding that the Act would not run afoul of the First Amendment if it were limited to purely economic activity, our focus is on whether the term “other actions” includes activity that is constitutionally protected.

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Illinois faculty rejects efforts to suppress Palestinian freedom

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Criticism of Israel is not antisemitism
Grave implications for free speech, distracts from actual racism

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN. (INSTAGRAM)

OPEN LETTER, Mondoweiss, DECEMBER 23, 2020

As faculty and staff within the University of Illinois system, we are writing to renew our outrage at the rampant anti-Semitism and racism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We condemn all forms of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-Blackness, xenophobia, and other forms of hatred and dehumanization.

We are also deeply concerned about the way anti-Semitism is defined in a joint statement issued by UIUC, the Jewish United Fund, Hillel groups, and the Brandeis Center in response to complaints that these avowedly pro-Israel groups filed against the University based on student speech and activism for Palestinian human rights.

Specifically, the statement identifies incidents “that demonize or delegitimize Jewish and pro-Israel students…[or] subjects them to double standards” as expressions of anti-Semitism. This conflation of Jewish religious and ethnic identity with a viewpoint that supports the state of Israel or Zionism as a political ideology is a dangerous tactic that is expressly aimed at silencing any and all debate about Israel and Zionism on college campuses.

The way that anti-Semitism is defined in UIUC’s statement correlates with a definition that has been pushed by pro-Israel groups in legislatures, agencies, and institutions around the country and that was adopted by Donald Trump in an executive order issued in 2019. Those same groups have often funded Islamophobia across this country and have allied themselves with right wing organizations. The definition itself is uncontroversial, but it is accompanied by several illustrative examples intended to guide its interpretation and use. For instance, critiques of Israel as a racist state are treated as expressions of anti-Semitism. As the Brandeis Center has said explicitly in the complaint it filed against UIUC, the definition means that: “anti-Zionism is a contemporary form of anti-Semitism.”

The political project to equate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is harmful on several levels, and we urge the University of Illinois administration to reject this effort because of the grave implications it has for academic freedom and student free speech on our campuses, the way it distracts from actual racism happening on our campuses, and the ironic consequence of creating an anti-Palestinian/Arab/Muslim environment on campus by targeting students for expressing their experiences and views.

1) The harm to academic freedom and student speech

Whether or not one agrees with Israeli policy, anyone concerned about academic freedom should be gravely concerned about this definition because repressing the free exchange of ideas is antithetical to the purpose of campus life and the opportunity for students to learn how to engage with diverse viewpoints.

Part of the university experience means hearing ideas that may clash with your own, being challenged to consider different perspectives, and approaching issues with intellectual rigor. UIUC’s statement eviscerates this by demanding that students with a certain political viewpoint – that is, support for Israel – be shielded from opposing ones. That is impossible, and untenable. No one would expect the university to protect students from Myanmar from criticism of its treatment of Muslims, or supporters of South Africa’s apartheid regime from its critics. That’s because we do not conflate criticism of a country with hatred of people who are from or support that country’s policies. And we must not do that for Israel either. Neither Israel, nor any other country, can be shielded from criticism in a university setting, and people who support Israel – as with any other issue – must learn to contend with differing viewpoints.

We are especially concerned about the impact this definition will have upon academic freedom in the area of teaching and debate in our classrooms, as well as on our scholarship. This creates an environment of fear in our classroom, making even faculty worried about being attacked for scholarship they assign in their courses and lectures and research projects they pursue. At colleges and universities across the US, pro-Israel organizations have called on the US Department of Education to enforce this definition by silencing students, faculty, courses, and events expressing support for Palestinian freedom. It is particularly concerning to see the adoption of this definition by the UIUC administration, in light of Prof. Steven Salaita’s experience having a job offer withdrawn by UIUC for comments made on his personal social media and other experiences of harassment of faculty and graduate students at UIUC. Indeed, the University has at times been responsive to ensure that explicit Islamophobic comments are not tolerated by staff, especially those in key positions on campus. Yet these responses are not nearly enough. Anti-Muslim sentiment and practices are integral to today’s unleashing of white supremacy across the country. Students across various U of I campuses continue to raise grave concerns about the lack of administrative response to the ways Islamophobia impacts their lives and academic success and they continue to fear for their safety. In January 2020, UIUC extended an invitation to JUF to train staff of the housing department. And now, for example, the University is dismissive of student concerns.

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Biden needs to reverse Pompeo on Israel/Palestine

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make a joint statement after meeting in Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, Pool)

Tsela Barr and Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, The Cap Times, Dec 4, 2020

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in another lame-duck effort to tie the hands of the incoming administration and give a parting gift to the far right in Israel and to right-wing Christian Evangelicals at home, has just poured kerosene on the fire of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The most senior U.S. official ever to publicly visit an Israeli settlement on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank, Pompeo proclaimed that settlement-produced goods imported to the U.S. will no longer be labeled as they had previously been, “made in West Bank/Gaza.” Instead, they can now be labeled “made in Israel,” despite the fact that neither U.S. law, nor the United Nations, recognizes Israel’s de facto annexation of large swaths of Palestinian territory.

Trump and Pompeo hope to drive one more nail in the coffin of long-standing official U.S. policy, which, while not sufficiently supportive of the aspirations of the Palestinians for legitimate self-governance on their own land, at least until now has held the settlement enterprise to be illegal, illegitimate, counterproductive to the cause of regional peace and stability, and even damaging to Israel’s own interests.

But there is an even more dangerous part of Pompeo’s pronouncements: that henceforth, the U.S. will officially label the international grassroots movement known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as anti-Semitic and will create what amounts to a blacklist of organizations that support it.

The BDS movement is an international effort by millions of people to try to pressure the Israeli government to respect the human, political and economic rights of Palestinians. It is inspired by a similar movement that targeted and helped overthrow apartheid rule in South Africa.

While, as American Jews, we have serious concerns about rising anti-Semitism, which is traditionally defined as hostility to, prejudice toward, or discrimination against Jews, we are united in opposition to labeling BDS (or other criticism of Israeli policies), as anti-Semitic and even worse, to using the power of governments at all levels to outlaw or punish the BDS movement.

Labelling BDS and other criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic is a cynical move to suppress speech and action critical of Israeli violations of human rights. This is plainly and simply wrong, and indeed dangerous. What happens when actual anti-Semitism does take place? Will it be taken seriously when politicians make up their own contemptuous definitions of genuine hatred of our people?

In 2018, we worked together to try to stop such an effort right here in Wisconsin, where both then-Gov. Walker and the majority of the Wisconsin Legislature — from both parties — succeeded in writing unconstitutional anti-BDS legislation into law.

All who believe in free speech and the right to press governments to end injustices must speak out against yet another authoritarian move from this lame-duck administration. We call upon the incoming Biden administration to firmly reject Trump and Pompeo’s Israel/Palestine policy, including the dangerous BDS-as-anti-Semitism falsehood.

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Pompeo Labels BDS Antisemitic, Threatens Blacklist

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This week Pompeo broke with longstanding U.S. policy and visited illegal Israeli settlements. On his trip, he made several announcements, including that the State Department is designating BDS as antisemitic and calling for the U.S. Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism to create what is essentially a blacklist of organizations that support BDS. We will have more on this soon, but for now:

  • Please share the JVP Action statement condemning this widely (this is compliant to share on chapter lists and chapter social media). You can also re-share our petition to the State Department on this issue.
  • Here are other statements you can check out and lift up:

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    DNC Delegates Demand Apology from the Biden Campaign

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    Attacks on Palestinian-American Delegate Linda Sarsour

    After DNC delegate and Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour spoke at an official DNC event of the Muslim Delegates and Allies Assembly on August 18th, 2020, Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the Joe Biden campaign, issued a statement saying,

    “Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of anti-Semitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and opposes BDS, as does the Democratic platform. She has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever.”

    As Palestinian-American delegates and allies, we stand by our fellow Palestinian-American delegate Linda Sarsour and condemn any effort to exclude elected national DNC delegates from official DNC events. We reject efforts to marginalize and demonize the Palestinian narrative. We also call upon the Democratic National Committee to renew its commitment to its own core principles of equality and justice for all.

    The DNC seeks to represent an inclusive and diverse population and should not discriminate against any segment on the basis of ethnicity, religion or political dissent. The vast majority of Democratic voters are calling for accountability, including BDS as a nonviolent form of curbing Israeli violations and challenging Israel’s impunity. The statement by the Biden campaign has willfully dropped the reference to freedom of speech from its platform language quote in the rush to malign, condemn and exclude Sarsour. Such an attack goes against the principles of the Democratic Party and the 2020 Democratic Party Platform to end systemic racism and to build a coalition.

    While we recognize the prevalence of anti-Semitism, criticism of Israel must not be conflated with anti-Semitism. Israel has repeatedly violated international humanitarian law and human rights as well as American international aid conditionality. Moreover, Jake Tapper of CNN has a history of singling out Palestinian-Americans, Muslim-Americans and anyone who stands behind Palestinian human rights or criticizes the Israeli occupation.

    This disavowal of Linda Sarsour reeks of misogyny, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry. It provides a false shield for Israel’s human rights abuses. The Biden campaign must not follow the lead of the Trump administration and should rise above these attacks and make a concerted effort to be inclusive and represent the collective vision for a truly democratic Party.

    Palestinian-American delegates and allies demand an immediate retraction and apology from the Biden campaign that smeared a prominent Palestinian-American activist, undermined her constitutional right to free speech, and weaponized anti-Semitism to silence the just critique of Israeli oppression of Palestinians.

    Sincerely,

    Palestinian American Delegates
    Huwaida Arraf, MI Delegate (CD-10)
    Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison, VA Delegate (CD-10)
    Samia Assed, NM At-Large Alternate (CD-1)
    Summer Awad, TN Delegate (CD-2)
    Sam Hindi, CA Delegate (CD-14)
    Hatem Natsheh, TX Delegate (SD-25)
    Emad Salem, TX Delegate (SD-10)
    Murad Sarama, CA Delegate (CD-6)
    Ibraheem Samirah, VA At-Large Delegate (CD-11)
    Endorsed by the following delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention:
    Abdul-Khabir, Kareema – CA Delegate, CD-8
    Ahmad, Nadia – FL Delegate, CD-7
    Alexander, Cory – ID Delegate, CD-1
    Ali, Faiza – NY Delegate, CD-10
    Alvarez, Roberto – CA Delegate, CD-38
    Aszterbaum, Joey – CA Delegate, At-Large
    Bagheri, Aaron – CA Delegate, CD-24
    Baker, Dana – CA Delegate, CD-4
    Beall, Elise – CO At-Large Delegate
    Beichler, Amber – VA Delegate, At Large
    Bellanca, Jay – NY At-Large Delegate
    Bernal, Karen – CA PLEO Delegate, CD-6
    Beyer, Timothy – CA Delegate, CD-43
    Bignell, Mark – MI Delegate, CD-4
    Bishop, Heather – OR Delegate, CD-4
    Blochowiak, Patricia – OH Delegate, CD-11
    Bonge, Sam – AZ Delegate, CD-8
    Britto, Lisa – FL Delegate, CD-10
    Brown, Michele – FL Delegate, CD-18
    Caballero, Josie – CA Delegate, CD-53
    Cea, Sergio – PA PLEO Delegate
    Choudhury, Leila – VA Delegate, CD-5
    Chrisliquori@gmail.com
    Chu de León, Chris – TX Delegate, SD-13
    Corley, Troy – CA Delegate, CD-26
    Cramer, Gina – TX Delegate, SD-26
    Culver, Jon – WA Delegate, CD-1
    Davis, Mina – TX Delegate, SD 5
    De Delva, Namcy – NY Delegate, CD-5
    Dean, Amy – VA Delegate, CD-7
    Derton, Robin – TX Delegate, PLEO Delegate, SD-5
    Dinkin, Leah – CO Delegate, CD-2
    Dlugosz, Anne – Delegate, Democrats Abroad
    Dominguez, Silvia – MA Delegate, CD-05
    Dunbar, Melissa – WA Delegate, CD-6
    Dupont, Aimee – MA Delegate, CD-2
    East, Shana – IL Delegate,
    Enriquez, Ivan – CA Delegate, At-Large CD-46
    Espinosa, Giancarlo – FL Delegate, At Large
    Ester, Lesley – CA Delegate, CD-2
    Evans, Stevevonna – CA Delegate, CD-33
    Farokhia, Sudi – CA Delegate, CD-45
    Farokhnia, Sudi – CA Delegate, CD-45
    Fleming, Joanne – WA Delegate, CD-5
    Foley, Linda – TX Delegate, SD-12
    Garcia Centeno, Krystal – IL Delegate, CD-11
    Garcia, Brandon – TX PLEO Delegate, SD-19
    Giardinelli, Bryan – CA Delegate, CD-42
    Gibson, Emily – OR Delegate, CD-2
    Gloria, Ernesto – TX Delegate, SD-9
    Gonzalez, Ana – CA Delegate, CD-35
    Gonzalez, Elizabeth – CA Delegate, CD-46
    Gordon, Patrick – IL Delegate, CD-8
    Hassan, Syed – TX Delegate, SD-22
    Hastings, Erika – TN Delegate, CD-8
    Hernandez, Thomas – WA Delegate, CD-3
    Hicks, Jared – MA Delegate, CD-7
    Hill, Lauren – NC At-Large Delegate
    Hoyt, Margie – CA Delegate, CD-43
    Huntley, Paul – CA Delegate, CD-19
    Huynh, Katherine – CA Delegate, CD-43
    Ibarra, Antonio – IL Delegate, CD-11
    Isak, Barbara “Babs” – UT Delegate, CD-3
    Jiang, Zhenzhen – CA Delegate, CD-14
    Johnson, Cavla – FL Delegate, CD-15
    Johnson, Heather – CA Delegate, CD-31
    Johnson, Valerie – TX Delegate, SD-9
    Hanieh Jodat Barnes – CA Delegate, CD-45
    Joyce, Rommy – CA Delegate, CD-19
    Jun Nawabi, Aleena – CA Delegate, SD-52
    Kain, Matthew – MI Delegate, CD-14
    Kang, Mani – CA Delegate, CD-46
    Kaur, Gurdeep – CA Delegate, CD-40
    Kessel, Michelle – TX Delegate, SD-25
    Khan, Varisha – WA Delegate, CD-1
    Khoury, Kari – CA Delegate, CD-9
    Klemmer, Isabel – WI Delegate, CD-6
    Knight, Mary Ann – TX Delegate, SD-10
    Langford, James – FL Delegate, CD-7
    Larranaga, Chris – NM Delegate, CD-1
    Lee, Briana – MN Delegate, CD-5
    Lefebvre, Lyndsey – CA Delegate, CD-39
    Lim, Cheng-Sim – CA Delegate, CD-28
    Liu, Melanie – CA Delegate, CD-18
    Ly, Ricky – FL Delegate, At Large
    Lynch, Nita – CO Delegate, CD-1
    MacLeod, Duncan – MI Delegate, CD-3
    Manos, Michelle – CA Delegate, CD-29
    Mansoor, Nabila – TX Delegate, SD-18
    Maro, Anthony – CO Delegate, CO-5
    Martin, Beth – WA Delegate, CD-9
    Martin, Grayson – CA Delegate, CD-52
    Martinez, Eduardo – CA Delegate, CD-11
    McClain, Christopher – CA Delegate, CD-31
    McCord, Kathleen – NM Delegate, CD-1
    McGrath, Bob – CO Delegate, CD-7
    McLain, Brian – IA Delegate, CD-3
    Merritt, Madeline – CA At-Large Delegate
    Meyer, Katie – CA Delegate, CD-53
    Moffa, Jamie – MO Delegate, CD-1
    Mohammed, Sabina – TX At Large Delegate, SD-22
    Moran, Kate – WA Delegate, CD-46
    Moreno, Gabriel – MD Active Alternate Delegate, CD-2
    Moxley, Kyle – MI Delegate, CD-8
    Nasrullah, Mohammed – TX Delegate, SD-11
    Nguyen, Lisa – OH Delegate, At Large
    Nygard, Dorothy – CA Delegate, CD-10
    O’Hea, Justin – NJ Delegate, CD-12
    Ocampo, Christina – CA Delegate, CD-8
    Okuzumi, Margaret – CA Delegate, CD-17
    Omeish, Abrar – VA PLEO Delegate, CD-11
    Orgel-Olson, Shawn – CA Delegate, CD-20
    Palma, Dayja – TX Delegate, SD-22
    Parr, Andrew – VA Delegate, CD-8
    Patterson, Kevin – TX Delegate, SD-30
    Perkel, Leah – WA Delegate, CD-3
    Pfeiffer, Mindy – CA Delegate, CD-27
    Phillips, Gregory – FL At-Large Delegate
    Pierce, Eric – CA Delegate, CD-28
    Ramos Rios, Virginia – NY Delegate, CD-7
    Ramos, Stacey – CA Delegate, CD-35
    Rawson, Katherine – UT Alternate Delegate
    Recendez, Denis P. – CA Delegate, CD-32
    Rehmani, Tasneem – CA Delegate,
    Reynolds, Samantha – CO Delegate, CD-2
    Rizvi, Maha – CA Delegate, CD-42
    Rodriguez, Maya – CA Delegate, CD-41
    Rodriguez, Tisa – CA Delegate, CD-41
    Roemer, Katy – CA Delegate, CD-13
    Saines, Koran T. – VA PLEO Delegate, CD-10
    Scoville, Carrie – CA PLEO Delegate, CD-44
    Shaughnessy, Christian – CA Delegate, At-Large
    Shepherd, Jeri – CO Delegate,
    Shergill, Amar – CA Delegate, CD-7
    Shimizu, Christine – CA Delegate, CD-30
    Siddiqui, Aftab – TX Delegate, CD-6
    Siddiqui, Zahid – CA Delegate,
    Smith, Benjamin – TN Delegate, CD-02
    Smith, Megan – ME Delegate, CD-2
    Solomon, Norman – CA Delegate, CD2
    Sondahl, Birrion – CO Delegate, CD-2
    Stevens, Karen – CA Delegate, CD-26
    Sukaton, Samuel – CA Delegate, At-Large
    Sullivan, Maureen – IL Delegate, CD-3
    Summervillle, William Moses – CA Delegate, CD-48
    Talevski, Susie – IN Delegate, CD-1
    Tatlock, Nina – FL PLEO Delegate,
    Taylor, Tarah – TX Delegate, SD-15
    Terpening, Stephanie – MI Delegate, CD-4
    Terrazas, Stephanie – CA Delegate, CD-39
    Thompson, Victoria – CA Delegate, CD-7
    Torres, Nelly – PA Delegate, CD-11
    Touati, Khalid – TX Delegate, SD-16
    Toy, Shirley – CA Delegate, CD-6
    Ty, Yaddi – WA Delegate, CD-2
    Uddin, Nazim – NC Delegate, At-Large
    Usman, Sameena – CA Delegate, CD-17
    Valladares, Victor – CA Delegate, CD-48
    Vazquez, Juan – CA Delegate, CD-10
    Verhey, Molly – WA Delegate, CD-08
    Wang, Anlin – PA Delegate, CD-3
    Ward, Kenneth – ID Delegate, CD-2
    Weekley, Dakin – FL Delegate, CD-26
    Wells, Marley – FL Delegate, CD-1
    Williams, Susana – CA Delegate, CD-9
    Winograd, Marcy – CA Delegate, CD-24
    Wong, Audrey – CA Delegate, CD-33
    Woodhall, Adam- FL Delegate, At Large
    Wright, Lissette – Delegate, Democrats Abroad
    Wunderly, Maggie – IL Delegate, At Large
    Youngblood, Brandon – CA Delegate, CD-9
    Zaman, Rubina – TX Delegate, SD-11
    Zeisel, Jodi – OR Delegate, CD-3

    Breaking! Fordham University is still trying to silence Students for Justice in Palestine

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    July 27, 2020

    July 27, 2020, New York –  Students asked New York’s Appellate Court on Friday to reject an effort by Fordham University to overturn a decision ordering the school to recognize the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) club. The students are represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Palestine Legal, and cooperating counsel Alan Levine. 

    “It’s ridiculous to us that our university is still trying to censor us now,” said Veer Shetty, vice president of SJP at Fordham. “We’ve already been active for a year, and appealing the court’s ruling feels especially cruel.”

    The original case stems from a fall 2015 effort by Fordham University students to start a Students for Justice in Palestine club on campus. Administrators dragged out the application process for a year – including multiple meetings, questioning students on their political views, and amendments to SJP’s constitution.

    In November 2016, Fordham’s undergraduate student government approved SJP as a student club. One month later, Fordham University Dean of Students Keith Eldredge took the unprecedented step of vetoing the student government’s approval based on SJP’s “political goals” and the possibility it would lead to “polarization.” 

    The Center for Constitutional Rights, Palestine Legal, and Alan Levine sued Fordham on behalf of four students in April 2017, winning the case in August 2019 when a New York court annulled Fordham’s decision, mandating that the university recognize SJP as an official club. 

    Fordham appealed the ruling in January 2020. Oral argument is expected in the Court’s September term.  

    While all of the original students who wanted to form SJP have since graduated, petitioner Veer Shetty was successfully added to the suit in 2019 as a sophomore who wanted to join SJP.   Shetty has served as SJP’s vice president during the 2019-2020 school year following the legal victory. Fordham is also challenging the ruling accepting Shetty as a petitioner. 

    “Last August, the court found that Fordham acted irrationally in banning SJP and ordered Fordham to recognize the club,” said Maria LaHood, deputy legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Now, even after SJP has been active on campus for a year, Fordham is still shamelessly trying to stop them – for what?”

    The brief filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Palestine Legal, and Alan Levine argues that the lower court properly found that Fordham violated its own rules in denying SJP club status and that Fordham’s focus on the reported conduct of SJPs at other schools in denying club status to SJP at Fordham was irrational. 

    “Fordham should never have vetoed SJP in the first place,” said Palestine Legal senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath. “The fact that the school is still trying to stop students from speaking out for Palestinian freedom, now, with annexation and in the middle of a pandemic, is beyond belief.” 

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