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 received an unprecedented surge in requests for legal support over the past week. Activists and community members have been doxxed, threatened, investigated, censored, questioned, fired, 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, 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 Stands Firmly with the Palestine Movement, Condemns Rising Anti-Palestinian Attacks

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Palestine Legal Stands Firmly with the Palestine Movement, Condemns Rising Anti-Palestinian Attacks

Palestine Legal expresses our firm and unequivocal solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for self-determination and freedom. The events of the last few days broke the barriers – physical and psychological – of Israel’s inhumane 16-year long siege of over two million Palestinians in Gaza, of 75-years of dispossession, exile and apartheid, of Israel’s invincibility and Palestinian invisibility. 

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Anti-Palestinian Deborah Project Files Baseless Ethics Complaint Against Arab-American School Board Member and Law Professor

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Anti-Palestinian Deborah Project Files Baseless Ethics Complaint Against Arab-American School Board Member and Law Professor

Professor Sahar Aziz, the first Arab and Muslim American female member of the Westfield Board of Education and Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School, is the latest target of baseless accusations attacking her speech in support of Palestinian rights.

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Civil Rights Groups Warn UCSC Attempts to Censor Pro-Palestine Scholarship May Violate Federal Laws

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Civil Rights Groups Warn UCSC Attempts to Censor Pro-Palestine Scholarship May Violate Federal Laws

On Wednesday, Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights wrote to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) warning them to cease attempts to unlawfully censor the upcoming Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism (ICSZ) convening, “Battling the ‘IHRA definition’: Theory & Activism”, which is set to be jointly held at UCSC and New York University (NYU) on October 13th and 14th.

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Palestine Legal to UPenn: Palestine Writes Literature Festival must be allowed to proceed without racist censorship

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Palestine Legal to UPenn: Palestine Writes Literature Festival must be allowed to proceed without racist censorship

On Friday, Palestine Legal wrote the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) urging the university to stand up for freedom of expression and permit the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to go forward, despite calls from Israel lobby groups to cancel the festival. Palestine Legal’s letter notes that the university would be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should it take action against the festival, which features dozens of Palestinian writers and other luminaries from across the world, including Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen, National Book Foundation ‘5 under 35’ awardee Isabella Hammad, Peabody awardee Laila Al-Arian, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Marc Lamont Hill, named by Ebony as one of the 100 most influential Black leaders in the country.

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Media Roundup: Palestine Legal files federal civil rights complaint against University of Illinois Chicago

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Media Roundup: Palestine Legal files federal civil rights complaint against University of Illinois Chicago

On September 12th, Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), demanding an investigation into the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students.

Below is a media roundup on the Title VI complaint in outlets including The Electronic Intifada, CBS News Chicago, and Middle East Eye.

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Palestine Legal Files Title VI Complaint Against University of Illinois Chicago for Discriminating Against Palestinian Students at Israel Study Abroad Event

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Palestine Legal Files Title VI Complaint Against University of Illinois Chicago for Discriminating Against Palestinian Students at Israel Study Abroad Event

Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), demanding an investigation into the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students, including barring Palestinian students from attending a January 2023 informational session on a university sponsored Israel study abroad program and threatening legal action against them for speaking about their experiences of discrimination. 

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