Spring Events with Palestine Legal
/Palestine Legal staff participated in a number of events this spring on topics ranging from academic freedom and free speech to a Know Your Rights workshop geared towards student activists.
Click here to view recordings from our winter events.
Past Events
Campus Palestinian Activism, Racial Justice, Solidarity Movements and Legal Implications
Amal Thabateh, our Michael Ratner Justice Fellow, joined a panel with some of our clients and colleagues regarding campus Palestine advocacy at the 2022 National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education.
The session explored advocacy for Palestinian rights on college campuses from the perspective of educators, students, solidarity activists and legal representatives, who broke down the battle to protect the right of students to call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), hold peaceful protests and challenge U.S. foreign policy towards Palestine and Israel. Exploring how justice in Palestine is a racial justice issue was at the center of the conversation.
Student Know Your Rights Workshop
Amal Thabateh led a Know Your Rights presentation geared towards campus activism hosted by the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers University.
Our KYR workshop guided students through situations they typically encounter when organizing an event or protest or simply expressing support for Palestinian human rights.
If you would like to request a KYR workshop for your campus group, please reach out here.
The Targeting of Palestine Activism in the United States: Suppression of American Constitutional Rights
Senior staff attorney Meera Shah joined a webinar on legislative efforts to silence Palestine advocacy in the U.S. hosted by The Arab Center Washington DC.
Speakers:
Brian Hauss of the ACLU
Maria LaHood of the Center for Constitutional Rights
Yousef Munayyer of the Arab Center Washington DC
and Meera Shah, Senior Staff Attorney at Palestine Legal
From Social Media to University Campuses: Responding to the Repression of Palestine Advocacy
Senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath joined a panel on campus and digital repression of Palestine advocacy at Columbia University.
In spring 2021, Muna and Mohammed El-Kurd amassed international media attention for speaking out against settler attempts to expel their family from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. Soon after, the two activists were detained and interrogated by Israeli authorities.
Across social media platforms, users protesting and documenting Israel’s assault on Gaza, al-Aqsa, and Sheikh Jarrah were also systematically silenced. In August 2021, an Israeli diplomat and a member of Congress met with officials at UNC-Chapel Hill to pressure the cancellation of a course on 'The Conflict Over Israel/Palestine' taught by doctoral student Kylie Broderick.
These are not isolated incidents. Laws targeting Israel boycotts and Palestine advocacy have been enacted in more than 30 states across the US, and are paralleled by policies and practices across media, technology companies, and academic institutions.
Columbia Law Students for Palestine & RightsLink organized this discussion on how Palestine advocacy is censored and emerging efforts to adapt to this challenge.
Academic Discourse and Freedom of Expression on Campus
Senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath joined Speech Acts, a series of talks at Fordham University focusing on questions related to free speech, political polarization, the place of truth in an age of social media, and related topics.
Featured Speakers:
Sigal R Ben-Porath, University of Pennsylvania
Radhika Sainath, Palestine Legal
Dennis Tyler, Fordham University
Rafael Zapata, Fordham University
Moderator: Abner Greene, Fordham University