UCLA Doxing Case In The News
/
Palestine Legal, our clients and partners were featured in a number of articles about our victory against an attorney with ties to the Israeli government who attempted to force UCLA to reveal the list of speakers at the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) conference in 2018.
On March 11, a judge in California ruled that disclosure would violate the presenters’ rights to freedom of association, speech and privacy.
The decision in the case, Abrams v. The Regents of the University of California, marks the first time that a court in the U.S. has acknowledged the McCarthyite environment faced by those speaking out for Palestinian rights.
Below are excerpts from articles in the Los Angeles Times, Mondoweiss, The Electronic Intifada, The Institute for Palestine Studies, The Intercept, and The Nation:
An Israel-Connected Lawyer is Trying to Dox Pro-Palestine Students in California (Mondoweiss)
“Our clients have worked hard to build a better future not only for Palestinians but for our society as a whole,” said Palestine Legal staff attorney Zoha Khalili in a statement. “UCLA should never have fallen for the racist narrative used to attack this conference with false claims of links to terrorism. We are glad UCLA has come to recognize the unfair backlash these activists face, and we hope the judge will, too.”
A Pro-Israel Lawyer Is Weaponizing Public Records Law Against Palestinian Activists (The Intercept)
“It was pretty bizarre,” said Irom Thockchom, a member of UCLA’s SJP chapter, who helped organize the conference. “At one point, protesters surrounded my car as I was driving to the venue to drop off supplies. They were taking pictures of me and some other people who were in the car, including an elderly Palestinian woman in the car who said, ‘This feels like Palestine.’”
Pro-Palestine Activists Win Landmark Ruling in California (Institute for Palestine Studies)
“This case sends a message to activists that there isn't a ‘Palestine exception' to access to justice in our courts,” Khalili wrote in an e-mail to Palestine Square. “In terms of legal precedent, the same arguments that we relied on to win this case would be binding in future cases.”
Protecting Pro-Palestine Activists Can Feel Almost Impossible—but These Students Succeeded (The Nation)
“Organizers are very proud to be a part of a movement for Palestinian liberation,” one student organizer said. “We’re not trying to hide our identities in order to to hide from being affiliated with Palestinian liberation…[it’s because of] right-wing actors who continue to abuse the legal system and other institutional levers to try and stop a righteous social movement, for liberation for Palestinians, and as part of a larger movement for collective liberation.”
Palestine Activists Score Big Legal Wins in California (Mondoweiss)
“David Abrams and other rightwing actors are trying to strike fear into students who are on the just side of history,” reads a National Students for Justice in Palestine statement released before the hearing. “We’re building people power on campuses from coast to coast, and the movement for Palestinian liberation is a progressive issue that we are proud to be a part of.”
Israel lobby loses legal effort to harass Palestinian rights activists (The Electronic Intifada)
Palestine Legal’s staff attorney Zoha Khalili says that this court victory is a clear vindication of the students’ hard work to protect the speakers and organizers against harassment campaigns – especially against a swayable university administration, federal complaints and relentless attacks.
“Students took such extraordinary measures to create a space in which they could do their organizing in the way that they wanted to, and for over two years, Abrams has tried to undermine that,” Khalili told The Electronic Intifada.
UCLA can shield identities of Palestinian rights advocates to prevent harassment, judge rules (Los Angeles Times)
Supporters of Palestinian rights hailed the ruling as a breakthrough, saying it marked the first time a court recognized they face harassment for their activities.
“This ruling is a victory that shows you cannot silence us,” said Irom Thockchom, who organized the 2018 conference while a student at UCLA and is now attending graduate school elsewhere. “The movement for justice is too strong.”
For more information about the lawsuit and legal victory, visit our case page.
