Civil Rights Complaint – Islamic Research and Information Center (IRIC)

Muslim advocacy group files civil rights complaint against University of Georgia

IRIC — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 11:59:54 +0000

Muslim advocacy group files civil rights complaint against University of Georgia

The Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group said it filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of some students at the University of Georgia alleging differential treatment of people of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim descent.

The complaint alleges the University of Georgia’s actions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars federal funds recipients from allowing discrimination based on race, religion and national origin. It was filed with the U.S. Education Department and urges a federal probe into the university.

University of Georgia students, faculty, staff, alumni and Athens community members demonstrate at the Arch in downtown Athens, Georgia, on Friday, May 3, 2024. The rally follows the arrest of 16 individuals on Monday, nine of whom were UGA students and suspended, at an encampment demonstration that lasted for an hour and a half before being shut down. The demonstrators are in support of Palestine and demand UGA disclose and divest from Israel, as well as the un-suspension of students.

The council said pro-Palestinian students have been the target of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic harassment since Israel’s war in Gaza began, adding the university did not do enough to prevent the harassment or remedy its effects.

The university said it supports free speech and does not discriminate based on race or religion while also enforcing its rules and holding accountable those who violate policies.

There have been numerous protests in the United States, including on college campuses, against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza, with some turning violent.

People gathered at the arch on the University of Georgia campus then marched to city hall during a rally in Athens on May 3, 2024.

There has also been anti-Semitic and Islamophobic rhetoric in some protests and counter protests. Human rights advocates have warned about rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered last Oct. 7 when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Source: Reuters

Berkeley Unified hit with new civil rights complaint over anti-Palestinian and Arab racism

IRIC — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:05:06 +0000

The district now faces allegations of antisemitism and “severe and pervasive racism” against Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and staff.

Berkeley Unified is in hot water again over its handling of discrimination — this time, toward Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and staff.

A school board meeting in Berkeley, Calif. Public school board meetings have turned heated and sometimes ugly.

The school district has been under scrutiny for months since a federal civil rights complaint filed in February described widespread antisemitism on campuses. On Wednesday, the superintendent testified before Congress on her handling of antisemitism in schools.

Now, the district is facing allegations that it failed to protect its Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students.

The complaint, filed Wednesday by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, alleges “severe and pervasive racism” against these students and staff.

A person holds a poster calling for a cease-fire at a Berkeley school board meeting in March.

It describes incidents based on input from roughly 20 students, parents and staff, ranging from Arab and Muslim students being taunted as terrorists to a student’s hijab being ripped off. It also claims that the school district is suppressing expressions of support for Palestine and allowing harassment of those who hold these views.

According to the complaint, a Muslim fourth-grader was told she could not give a presentation about Palestinians to her class; students who started a Watermelon Club for Palestine faced complaints before holding their first meeting; parents have harassed students participating in walkouts and protests by filming them.

Berkeley High students painted a mural on Allston Way on Wednesday to call for a cease-fire in the Gaza war.

The complaint by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and CAIR counters what the Brandeis Center characterized as an insufficient response to antisemitism. This complaint argues that there is a suppression of support for Palestinians and discrimination against those expressing a pro-Palestinian viewpoint.

The dueling narratives reflect the division in Berkeley schools over the Israel-Palestine conflict, borne out in online petitions and legal challenges. The new complaint illustrates the heated debates over this issue that have long hashed out at school board meetings and private forums.

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