Palestine Legal in The North Jersey Record on Dept. of Ed. Complaint

The North Jersey Record covered the complaint that Palestine Legal and 8 other civil rights organizations filed with the Department of Education against Kenneth Marcus for violating federal law while investigating Rutgers University at the behest of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).

The article quotes staff attorney Zoha Khalili and Rutgers SJP:

Nine civil rights organizations have filed a complaint against Kenneth Marcus, the Trump administration's assistant education secretary for civil rights, over his handling of a Rutgers University case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over campus activism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

"The special treatment Marcus accorded the ZOA is a violation of federal law," said Zoha Khalili, an attorney at Chicago-based Palestine Legal. "His actions display a wanton disregard for the impartial role he is expected to play as a civil servant."

At Rutgers, the investigation has had a chilling effect on free speech and cast a shadow over organizing, according to the group Rutgers University Students for Justice in Palestine.

“The investigation has added to that, especially for younger students who hadn’t been part of SJP before all this," the group said in a statement. "People are afraid to rock the boat. Everyone has been very cautious about how we do things.”

Organizations that filed the complaint with the inspector general also included Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Defending Rights & Dissent, Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and Project South.

Read the full article here and read our complaint here.