In response to Palestine protests and acts of solidarity around the country this spring, Palestine Legal witnessed a significant uptick in the amount and severity of backlash against Palestine advocates by Israel and its allies in the U.S. Here we highlight some of the major trends we witnessed in our cases and intakes and in the movement more broadly between May and June 2021.
Read MoreOn June 30, after months of student organizing, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law issued a statement in support of rising 3L Nerdeen Kiswani, who has faced a barrage of anti-Palestinian hate over the past 9 months in response to her years-long activism supporting Palestinian freedom. It is believed to be the first statement from a U.S.-based university condemning censorship campaigns against students supporting Palestinian rights and anti-Palestinian hate.
Read MoreSt. John's University in New York censored a Palestinian doctoral student, preventing her from celebrating her Palestinian identity and scholarship during the school's virtual commencement ceremony last month. Dr. Laila Shikaki was not the only Palestinian targeted during spring graduation ceremonies this year. Palestine Legal responded to other commencement incidents in recent weeks.
Read MoreJuneteenth was just declared a national holiday, but African Americans have been celebrating this day for a century and a half, and it was always bigger than Texas, bigger than the United States, even bigger than the dark night of slavery.
Today, civil rights groups asked the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York State, to hear an appeal of a ruling that allows Fordham University to censor student speech. The petition comes in a lawsuit brought by Fordham students prohibited by the university from forming a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) school club because of the group’s “political goals” and because of claims it would be “polarizing.”
Read MoreIn 2018, Palestine Legal issued an advisory and an update regarding FBI visits to Palestine activists. Given new reports we have heard of activists being questioned by the FBI and local police amid this year’s popular uprising for Palestinian rights and new and updated resources from the National Lawyers’ Guild and the Center for Constitutional Rights, we wanted to reissue this information for our community.
Read MorePalestine Legal joins widespread international condemnation of Israel’s ethnic cleansing efforts in East Jerusalem, severe repression of protesters, and indiscriminate murder of Palestinians in Gaza. We share legal resources for protesters organizing or participating in demonstrations, as well as an incomplete list of actions around the U.S. organized by Palestinian communities and their supporters.
Read MorePalestine Legal is an independent organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil rights and liberties
of people in the US who speak out for Palestinian freedom.
Palestine Legal ©2016
Palestine Legal is a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your gift may be tax-deductible pursuant to §170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please visit www.tides.org/state-nonprofit-disclosures for additional information.
