After being sanctioned for posting messages in support of Palestine on their internal work portal, two Muslim women are suing their employer for discrimination. Lloyds Bank PLC (“LBP” or “Lloyds”) is one of the biggest banks in the UK.
In May 2021, Affy and Aliya posted messages in support of the Palestinian people and criticising illegal Israeli policies on their internal online portal, a platform where social issues are often discussed between employees. At the time, the Israeli army was bombing the occupied Gaza Strip, an attack that resulted in the killing of 236 Palestinian civilians. Affy also expressed her desire for LBP to boycott HP, a company that provided servers to run the ID systems that Israel uses to restrict Palestinian movement, and raised concerns on the impact of this on LBP’s ethical business activity.
Lloyds decided to investigate Affy and Aliya about the posts. Findings of ‘gross misconduct’ were made against both women for breaching the Lloyds’ policies on professional integrity, personal integrity – which include rules about discrimination, harassment and abusive content – and doing business responsibly. They received written warnings which could remain on their records indefinitely and were both reported to the Financial Conduct Authority for failing ‘to act with due skill, care and diligence’.
This has had serious consequences in Affy and Aliya’s personal and professional lives. Affy, was 21 at the time, lost a prestigious graduate role with a £60,000 starting salary as a result of Lloyds’ sanctions. Affy and Aliya both lost their annual bonuses. Both are anxious about their future careers and now fear reprisal for raising concerns about socially responsible business or speaking about Palestine.
To get these sanctions removed, and to defend the right to speak about Palestine, Affy and Aliya are taking LBP to court for discrimination.
We should all be freed from discrimination based on our beliefs or our opinions about a just cause. We are taking this legal fight to end discrimination in our workplace. said Aliya.
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is supporting Affy and Aliya in their legal fight to get their sanctions revoked and their professional reputations restored. Giovanni Fassina, the Director of the ELSC, comments:
We have taken on this case to defend Affy and Aliya’s rights to advocate for Palestinian rights in their workplace, including through education and actions around corporate complicity in human rights abuse. This case is a clear manifestation of anti-Palestinian racism, a form of discrimination that silences, excludes, and defames Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, and a dangerous restriction of free speech.[1]
The ELSC launched a crowdfunding campaign to help both employees cover the costly legal fees of their lawsuit against Lloyds, one of the biggest banks in the UK. The costs are estimated to be at least £30,000.
Affy’s hearing is set to take place in June 2023 at the London Central Employment Tribunal. Aliya is in the process of applying to have her case adjoined to Affy’s.
We have just launched our year-end campaign to gather the funds we need to continue our work in 2023!
We have until the end of this year to raise €20,000 to fund our legal battles for next year! Without the generosity of our supporters, our work in the defence of Palestinian rights advocates is at risk.
Throughout 2022, we have grown our team and now boast 10 professional staff members giving their all into tackling cases of repression, mostly in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, and providing legal support to Palestinian civil society organisations. Owing to donations, we were able to win more cases than any year before: more than 80 individuals and organisations had their fundamental rights upheld after the ELSC intervened.
Throughout 2022, we have helped secure victories in court for our community
With our assistance, Dr Anna-Esther Younes challenged German institutions in court and the two organisations responsible for surveilling, smearing and censoring her were held accountable. Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Farah Maraqa also won her lawsuit against German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, which had dismissed her for alleged antisemitism in an attempt to silence her.
In the UK, our team helped Gazan scholar Shahd Abusalama recover her teaching position after she was suspended by Sheffield Hallam University and brutally smeared in the public sphere.
I am indebted to the ELSC. The support they have provided has really helped me in challenging the mainstream media. They provide a crucial service.
— UK activist supported by the ELSC
Some people do a great job for Palestine and the ELSC are at the top of the list.
— Football Against Apartheid
I would have probably not written about Palestine without your support and the positive outcome.
In order to tackle the growing climate of repression across Europe with even more might in 2023, we urgently need the resources.
Will you join our movement for justice? Become an ELSC supporter today to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights keep receiving free legal support by making a monthly donation to the ELSC.
Thank you, from the whole ELSC team, for your deep dedication and solidarity.
Remember to follow the ELSC on social media and amplify our work!
If you are a legal practitioner or a volunteer who wants to be part of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.
Throughout the past month, we’ve succeeded in empowering and defending freedom of expression and the right to advocate against repression and injustice in Palestine.
Before all else, the ELSC wishes to draw attention to the urgent situation engulfing Palestine in recent weeks. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people facing mass repression. As Europe carries on with its concerted efforts to silence Palestine, the movement perseveres and we nonetheless have victories to report!
AUSTRIA: FOUR UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT ANTI-BDS LEGISLATION AND SUED BDS ACTIVIST SECURES FIRST VICTORY IN STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE
UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, SR on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, SR on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and SR on the situation of human rights defenders have sent a communication to Austrian authorities. They demand clarification on the City of Vienna’s anti-BDS resolution and the lawsuit filed by the City against a BDS Austria activist.
The SRs expressed “concern that the City of Vienna’s filing of a lawsuit against a member of BDS Austria may hinder the peaceful activities of human rights defenders committed to monitor and denounce human rights violations in occupied Palestine, shrinking the civic space available to them to express legitimate grievances“.
The BDS activist in question has secured a victory on October 22 as the administrative authority at the City of Vienna drops its proceedings! We’re hopeful that this decision pushes the civil court to dismiss the SLAPP still pending against the activist.
Back in April, a judge upheld the SLAPP lodged by the City of Vienna against the activist over the same post. The City’s argument? The sarcastic “Visit apartheid” statement associated with the City’s logo constitutes defamation and BDS “incites to hatred against Israeli people”.
But this latest victory may mark a turning point in the judicial saga. The activist’s lawyer, Elisabetta Folliero, is hopeful that the civil court will now follow suit:
“It is very positive that the administration of the City of Vienna has reaffirmed the importance of the exercise of freedom of opinion. […] We hope that the civil proceedings still pending will also have the same outcome. It is vital to reiterate that freedom of opinion, and freedom of boycott as its component, are essential in order to safeguard democracy.“
UK: WHILE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY REJECTS IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM, UKLFI DEFENDS TEACHER’S ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS
We congratulate Aberdeen University’s move to reject the IHRA working definition of antisemitism!
We encourage students to continue to resist the adoption and the use of the flawed IHRA definition at university with this toolkit. Combat racism, hold the Israeli government accountable, and reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism!
We encourage students to continue to resist the adoption and the use of the flawed IHRA definition at university with this toolkit. Combat racism, hold the Israeli government accountable, and reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism!
Meanwhile, a member of UK Lawyers for Israel has provided an “expert witness” testimony in support of a teacher sanctioned for antisemitism. The teacher is a supporter of Israel and began posting antisemitic content on social media under a pseudonym in a futile attempt to “bait” Palestine solidarity organisations into endorsing racism. The UKLFI member testified in support of the teacher in an attempt to defend his actions as a supporter of Israel, stating that “the IHRA definition had never been intended for use as a tool to sanction people nor as a means to take away their livelihood or free speech, or indeed to effect discipline.”
Contrasting with UKLFI’s usual stance that anti-Zionism constitutes antisemitism and its strong campaigning for the implementation of the IHRA definition, this case reveals manipulation and insincerity in how the IHRA definition is used by pro-Israel organisations: it is not a tool to combat antisemitism but, rather, a tool to censor Palestinian rights advocacy.
Stay updated on our UK cases with our brand-new country-specific website!
GERMANY: PROGRESS IN CHALLENGING THE BUNDESTAG’S ANTI-BDS LEGISLATION AS NEXT HEARING IS CONFIRMED
The Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) suing the German federal parliament for the anti-BDS resolution adopted in 2019 mark a new step against resisting the legislation: the next hearing at the Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenbur has been announced for the first half of 2023!
Eight decisions have already affirmed the illegitimacy of anti-BDS law in Germany: the Munich Regional Court, the administrative courts of Lower Saxony, Cologne, Hesse, Bavaria and, most recently Leipzig, have convicted the cities of Oldenburg, Bonn, Frankfurt and Munich for violating the constitutional rights to equality, freedom of expression and assembly.
✊ Support this crucial legal battle against shrinking civic space in Germany ✊
UN: 65 ORGANISATIONS SEND A LETTER TO THE NEW HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, URGING FOR CONCRETE MEASURES TO ENSURE JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
On 17 October 2022, 65 Palestinian, regional and international organisations sent a joint letter to the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk, welcoming him in his new position and highlighting some of the recent alarming Israeli policies and practices imposed against Palestinians.
Sign the ECI petition to demand an end to European trade with illegal settlements. Please add your signature and share it with your family and friends!
Support the campaign for the release of the young Ahmad Manasra, detained in Israeli jails and suffering from serious consequences to his mental health.
Check out the second panel on “Anti-Zionism as taboo” organised by Judeobolschewienerinnen with Palestine Speaks, JID Leipzig, Dr. Sarah El-Bulbeisi and Dr Anna-Esther Younes. This discussion is essential in a context such as the German and Austrian, where censorship is widespread. Freedom of expression and of assembly are continuously at risk. Dr. Anna-Esther Younes’ and Walaa Alqaisiya’s cases are clear examples of this climate.
ELSC was proud to participate in the 2022 edition of the Festival des Libertés in Brussels, attending a panel on the criminalisation of solidarity. Listen to the discussion here (French).
USEFUL RESOURCES
Take a look at the new publication on the growing Israeli repression of Palestinian civil society and the crime of apartheid by Palestine Studies and Al Haq.
Read Hebh Jamal’s overview of anti-Palestinian racism, including of the use of the IHRA definition to repress artistic and political expression and the role of mainstream media in amplifying the racist vitriol.
You can find resources on challenging the IHRA definition here.
Read the new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on ecological crisis climate justice and racial justice. Here, the SP analyses how the IHRA definition risks being weaponised to restrict freedom of expression, demonstration and the press.
Thank you for your continued support!
In solidarity,
The ELSC team
Remember to follow the ELSC on social media @elsclegal and amplify our work!
If you are interested in empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, we welcome your one-time or monthly donations to the ELSC. For any inquiries, contact us at info@elsc.support.
If you are a legal practitioner or a volunteer who wants to be part of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.
