PSLS Warns LA Council against Unconstitutional Resolution

Credit: SJP UCLA

In June 2014, a coalition of civil rights organizations including Palestine Solidarity Legal Support (PSLS) and the ACLU of Southern California wrote to the L.A. City Council warning them against a resolution condemning the speech and advocacy of SJP at UCLA. The Los Angeles City Council had proposed a resolution to condemn student advocacy against the Israeli lobby on campus. It mischaracterized student advocacy as “bullying” and “harassment,” and urged the University of California to restrict their speech activity. The resolution also urged the UC to refer cases of “intimidation or harassment” (and by clear implication, the advocacy activities of SJP) to “the proper law enforcement agencies.”

The letter warns the Council that:

if passed, this Resolution would violate the LA City Council’s obligations under the First Amendment … by directing the UC to censor political debate on campus on a specific issue. The Resolution casts exactly the “pall of orthodoxy” over the UC on matters of public concern that the Supreme Court has proscribed.

The resolution did not move forward in the City Council.

To view the full letter, click here.