Palestinian Staff – Islamic Research and Information Center (IRIC) https://iric.org Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:57:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.14 https://iric.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/iric-favicon.png Palestinian Staff – Islamic Research and Information Center (IRIC) https://iric.org 32 32 Berkeley Unified hit with new civil rights complaint over anti-Palestinian and Arab racism https://iric.org/berkeley-unified-hit-with-new-civil-rights-complaint-over-anti-palestinian-and-arab-racism/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=berkeley-unified-hit-with-new-civil-rights-complaint-over-anti-palestinian-and-arab-racism https://iric.org/berkeley-unified-hit-with-new-civil-rights-complaint-over-anti-palestinian-and-arab-racism/#respond Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:05:06 +0000 https://iric.org/?p=37904 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.

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

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

Continue reading on: Berkeleyside

]]> https://iric.org/berkeley-unified-hit-with-new-civil-rights-complaint-over-anti-palestinian-and-arab-racism/feed/ 0