Our Letter to the Dept. of Education: Address Rise of Anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic Racism
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Photo by Rifqa Falaneh at a Chicago vigil for Gaza and 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy Wadea Al-Fayoume.
On October 31, Palestine Legal, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and the Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a letter urging the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to take urgent special measures, including providing guidance to universities and schools, to ensure the protection of the fundamental rights of people calling for Palestinian freedom.
We also called to OCR’s attention our letter signed by more than 600 members of the legal community who are alarmed by the surge in anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic racism and attacks threatening students and communities across the country as Israel’s brutal bombardment, total siege, and invasion of Gaza continues.
In a moment where we're witnessing the growing wave of support for Palestinian freedom, we are also seeing the rise of violent anti-Palestinian, Arab, Islamophobic rhetoric wielded to repress and criminalize the advocacy efforts and speech of predominately Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and other students of color, who as a result, have been subjected to racist and xenophobic harassment across schools and universities.
“The lack of action by schools and universities is contributing to the dehumanization of Palestinians and fostering an anti-Palestinian environment that will have lasting harm on students,” said Palestine Legal’s Advocacy Manager, Lina Assi. “The rights and safety of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim, and other students of color must be guaranteed to protect against heightened state repression and constitutional freedom violations.”
In our letter, we urge OCR to take immediate steps to safeguard vulnerable students experiencing anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic bigotry, including the following:
Provide guidance, resources, and training to universities and schools to ensure the protection of Palestinians and their allies calling for Palestinian freedom in ways that do not contribute to the troubling rise in racist surveillance and policing of these communities;
Expedite thorough investigations of incidents of anti-Palestinian discrimination that are reported to OCR;
Publish a Dear Colleague Letter that addresses the rise of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic racism;
Host listening sessions for affected students to testify to incidents of anti-Palestinian discrimination and harassment;
Rejecting the codification of IHRA in agency rules and affirming its mandate to protect the rights of all vulnerable student groups
Read the full letter here.