Dear Friend,
With more clarity than last week about the results of the election, it is clear that Palestine advocates still have our work cut out for us.
While the attacks against organizing for Palestinian freedom have intensified under the Trump administration, these attacks have always been bipartisan and will continue under a Biden-Harris regime.
We therefore join activists in continuing to push for a just future here and in Palestine.
First, the Coalition to Save Arab American Studies in California urgently needs your support.
Today is the final day for public comment as the state seeks to erase Arab American Studies from its high school ethnic studies curriculum, due to Israel lobby opposition to the inclusion of narratives about Palestine, colonialism, and the movement for boycotts, divestment and sanctions.
Take two minutes to sign and share the petition below, before 12pm Pacific!
On Saturday, hear from staff attorney Zoha Khalili on challenging efforts to silence the movement as part of the American Studies Association's Freedom Courses.
On Sunday, tune in to a conference on Decolonizing Our Universities, where Dima Khalidi will moderate a panel on demilitarizing universities.
We are busy putting the final touches on our new legislation site, which we look forward to sharing with you next week.
Wishing you all well,
Kristian Bailey
Communications Manager |
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Take Action:
Defend Arab American Studies in California
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California has demoted Arab American studies to second-class status in its ethnic studies curriculum after backlash from Israel advocacy groups over the inclusion of narratives around Palestine and boycotts for Palestinian freedom.
The state removed Arab American Studies from a model curriculum for educators, only including a limited lesson on Arab Americans in an appendix. It also eliminated all content about Palestine.
As JVP writes, "A lesson plan that mentioned the Nakba was removed altogether. And there is no mention of Palestine whatsoever in the sole Arab American sample lesson."
Palestine Legal submitted the following public comment this morning: "The educators who developed the original draft dared to include Palestinians, their activism and their culture as topics worthy of study. As a result, there has been a crackdown on the entire ethnic studies curriculum, and this would-be educational tool has been hijacked to further a narrative in support of the Israeli government."
Take action today and send your own comment by signing the petitions below:
Public comment is due by 12 PM Pacific Time, so act fast!
Shoutout to AROC, CAIR-SF Bay Area, JVP, and MPower Change for the action campaigns.
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Upcoming Events with Palestine Legal
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Saturday 11/14 | 4-5:30 PM ET
Truth to Power and Power’s Untruth: Challenging Silencing Strategies in the Palestinian Struggle
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Featuring:
- Rabab Abdulhadi, Professor, Director of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies program, San Francisco State University
- Rani Allan, Law Student, George Washington University
- Nora Barrows-Friedman, journalist, Electronic Intifada
- Zoha Khalili, attorney, Palestine Legal
- Tomomi Kinukawa, Professor, Women and Gender Studies, San Francisco State University
- David Lloyd, Professor, English and Ethnic Studies, University of California, Riverside
- Bill Mullen, Professor Emeritus, American Studies, Purdue University
Co-moderators: Keith Feldman and Omar Zahzah.
Organized by the American Studies Association.
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Sunday 11/15 | 10 AM ET
Demilitarize our Campuses: Ending Repression at Universities
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Featuring:
Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal. She will introduce and moderate the session.
Dhiraj K Nite, Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi (India) and President of the Ambedkar University Faculty Association
Helberth Choachi, teacher and Coordinator for Degree in Education with Emphasis on Human Rights, Faculty of Education, National Pedagogical University, Bogotá, Colombia
Aseel Hussain, activist in the Idea Factory initiative at Birzeit University
Natasha Ion, Campaigns and Movement Building Coordinator at People & Planet
Organized by the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
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