Legal Resources for Activists Advocating for Palestine Across the U.S.

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Legal Resources for Activists Advocating for Palestine Across the U.S.

Palestine Legal has been receiving an unprecedented surge in requests for legal support as the Trump administration escalates its repression of the movement for justice in Palestine — with many of the same tools that it inherited from the Biden administration and its unwavering support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Activists and community members have been doxxed, investigated, censored, questioned, fired, jailed, and even assaulted simply because of their views, while government officials appear to be mobilizing law enforcement resources against them for their speech activities.

While we work to respond to these requests, these guides and contacts from Palestine Legal and partner organizations will help you assess risks, protect yourself and others, and reduce harm from repression.

While we work to respond to these requests, here are resources to prepare for and resist backlash against your activism, including contact information for other organizations responding to this unprecedented backlash.

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Palestine Legal Condemns Wave of Campus Anti-Protest Policies Intended To Suppress Student Activism

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Palestine Legal Condemns Wave of Campus Anti-Protest Policies Intended To Suppress Student Activism

The stakes have gone up this fall for students protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Across the U.S., colleges are rolling out new anti-protest policies in an attempt to prevent a repeat of last spring’s historic wave of student activism calling on universities to disclose and divest from financial ties to Israel. 

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Vanderbilt's Discriminatory Crackdown on Palestine Activism

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Vanderbilt's Discriminatory Crackdown on Palestine Activism

Palestine Legal has sent a letter to Vanderbilt University after the administration unilaterally canceled a campuswide vote on a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution set to take place this week.

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OSU Unconstitutionally Blocks Divestment Vote

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OSU Unconstitutionally Blocks Divestment Vote

Today, Palestine Legal sent a letter to the Ohio State University (OSU) administration urging it to allow students to vote on a ballot initiative that would call on the university to divest from companies complicit in genocide.

In our letter to the university, we warn OSU against disparate treatment toward Palestinian students and put the university on notice to respect students’ civil and constitutional rights. 

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Success! George Washington SJP Completely Exonerated After Controversial Hearing

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Success! George Washington SJP Completely Exonerated After Controversial Hearing

In written decisions issued last Friday, George Washington University cleared Students for Justice in Palestine and its president, Lance Lokas, who were wrongly charged with misconduct relating to property after SJP organized a postering campaign critical of the Israeli army’s treatment of Palestinians. 

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The Guardian on Backlash to Growing Campus Palestine Activism

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Michael Ratner Justice Fellow Amira Mattar was featured in a Guardian article addressing the backlash to the growing campus movement for Palestinian liberation.

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Butler Students Defeat Measures to Censor Palestine

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Students at Butler University in Indiana mounted a successful campaign against two resolutions cracking down on the right to advocate for Palestine on campus. The resolutions had been proposed as retaliation against an event featuring protest art from around the world.

Palestine Legal wrote to Butler earlier this week after an administrator boosted the censorship campaign in a campus-wide email. The letter explained that Butler had failed its students by giving a stamp of approval to a widespread harassment campaign targeting advocacy for Palestine on college campuses.

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