Categories
Press Release

New Report Highlights Major Free Speech Issues in UK Universities

Report published today reveals breaches of fundamental rights in UK Higher Education through the use of the ‘IHRA definition of antisemitism’

London, 13 September 2023

A controversial definition of antisemitism that conflates criticisms of Israel with antisemitism has been used on campuses, leading to restrictions on the freedom of speech of staff and students, the new report reveals. This is the first study to expose the harmful implications of the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism following its adoption in UK universities. It was conducted by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES), the largest academic association in Europe focused on the study of the Middle East and North Africa, and the European Legal Support Center (ELSC). The report demonstrates that the definition is not fit for purpose and is infringing on academic freedom and freedom of speech, while also harming the mental health, reputation and career prospects of students and staff.

The report is based on an analysis of 40 cases, recorded between 2017 and 2022, in which university staff and students were accused of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition. In all instances, except in two ongoing cases, the accusations of antisemitism have been rejected. The final two have yet to be substantiated. 

The findings demonstrate that the IHRA definition is undermining academic freedom and freedom of expression in relation to discussions of Israel and Palestine and risks being used in a way that discriminates against Palestinians and others on campuses who wish to teach, research, study, discuss, or speak out against the oppression of Palestinians.

The accusations have, in some cases, led to the cancellation of events that discuss the situation in Palestine and/or take a critical stance on Zionism, or the imposition of unreasonable conditions on the format of events. A common feature across several cases is the occurrence of significant and sustained levels of monitoring and surveillance by complainants including recording student speeches and staff lectures; monitoring student or staff social media posts; and reviewing academic publications, course syllabi and reading lists.

Staff and students who were subject to investigations and, in some cases, disciplinary hearings registered varying levels of stress and anxiety caused by these processes, despite being exonerated.

The reflections of one academic who went on leave due to stress are illustrative:

When you are in the process, you don’t understand how stressed you are. My nerves made me hyper vigilant for two years. The impact of the cases, continual media coverage, and constant communication to deal with the case resulted in chronic stress. 

Another targeted academic expressed concerns about their reputation and career:

I feel like I’m on this emotional roller-coaster. I feel like I won’t get a job anywhere else. If I apply for another job, they might not hire me. Not that they would think that I’m antisemitic but because they would want to avoid controversy. That’s the reality for me now. It’s different for the people whose investigations didn’t go public. Reputation is everything for academics.

One student explained how the accusations interfered with their studies and threatened their future education:

It was really difficult to hear that you might be kicked out of university. It was very hard for me to focus on my studies. I had to do re-sits in the summer, so I didn’t graduate until recently. I nearly didn’t get into Oxford. I missed the deadline by two months. If it wasn’t for Oxford being really flexible, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.

These cases are creating a chilling effect among staff and students, deterring individuals from speaking about or organising events that discuss Palestine out of fear that they will be subject to complaints, or else will face considerable bureaucratic hurdles and even costly legal action. Academics employed on temporary contracts and students are particularly susceptible to self-censorship out of fear that any sort of accusations, even if not upheld, could jeopardise their future ability to obtain permanent employment or impact their mental health.

The authors of the report recommend that UK higher education institutions should rescind the adoption of the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism.

Neve Gordon, the Chair of BRISMES’s Committee on Academic Freedom and a professor of human rights law in the School of Law at Queen Mary University of London said: 

What has been framed as a tool to classify and assess a particular form of discriminatory violations of protected characteristics, has instead been used as a tool to undermine and punish protected speech and to punish those in academia who voice criticism of the Israeli state’s policies.

Giovanni Fassina, Director of the ELSC added: 

Not only does the documented pattern call into question the compliance of UK universities with their legal obligation to protect academic freedom and freedom of expression, but it is leading universities away from their core mission of nurturing critical thought, facilitating unhindered research, and encouraging wide-ranging debate.

Background

In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) adopted a working definition of antisemitism (‘the IHRA definition’), to which was appended a list of examples of antisemitism, several of which mention Israel, thereby conflating criticisms of the State of Israel, its policies, practices and political ideology with antisemitism. In practice, these examples have been used in UK higher education institutions to delegitimise points of view critical of Israel by making false accusations of antisemitism. 

As pointed out by one of the main drafters of the IHRA definition, Kenneth Stern, writing in The Guardian in 2019, “It was never intended to be a campus hate speech code”. 

While antisemitism exists within UK society and incidents of anti-Jewish prejudice occur in higher education institutions, just as in other institutional contexts, the findings of this new report provide concrete evidence that the IHRA definition of antisemitism is not fit for purpose. The history and instrumentalisation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism should be understood in a wider context of attacks on advocates for Palestinian rights, as explained in a previous report published by the ELSC. Additional resources produced in the USA and Canada demonstrate similar harmful consequences for the rights of advocates for Palestine, while several human rights organisations, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have asked the UN to reject the IHRA definition because its use and implementation “chill and sometimes suppress non-violent protest, activism and speech”. Such misuse has also been criticised by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Racism E. Tendayi Achiume.

In the UK, other efforts are being deployed at the institutional level to try and undermine advocacy for Palestine. In June 2023, the government tabled a bill aimed at preventing public bodies from making investment decisions that align with their human rights responsibilities and obligations. The bill was designed to target, in particular, boycotts, divestment and sanctions of Israel and, therefore, the Palestinian-led BDS movement. In response, a coalition of more than 70 civil society organisations in the UK declared that this bill represents a further attack on freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch called the bill “the latest in a growing list of measures which fundamentally undermine free speech and democratic rights in the country.”

The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) is the largest academic association in Europe focused on the study of the Middle East and North Africa. Through its Committee on Academic Freedom, it is committed to supporting academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region, both in the UK and globally. https://www.brismes.ac.uk/ 

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is the only organisation providing free legal support to individuals, groups and organisations advocating for Palestinian rights in Europe, including the UK. ELSC also documents incidents of repression and analyses and challenges the restrictive policies that result in shrinking space. https://elsc.support/

Categories
Newsletter

Summer Updates & Recent Victories for the Defence of Palestinian Rights Advocacy in Europe

Dear friend,
We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people facing mass repression in Jenin and everywhere else in the world. We have been kept very busy these past few months as Europe carried on with its concerted efforts to silence Palestine, and would now like to share with you some updates covering the period from April to July. The movement perseveres, and we have many victories to report!


Don’t forget to sign up to receive our monthly newsletter in your inbox!


VICTORIES & CASE UPDATES

DOCUMENTA FIFTEEN CHARGES OF ANTISEMITISM DROPPED

In April 2023, Kassel’s Public Prosecutor dropped the charges of antisemitism concerning some artwork presented at the 15th edition of the renowned documenta art festival in Kassel, specifically targeted Palestinian artists and one artwork of an Indonesian artist displaying a pig and an Israeli Mossad agent.  

Documenta fifteen, which was curated by Jakarta-based artists’ collective Ruangrupa and largely featured artists from the Global South, faced months of major smear campaigns for hosting Palestinian collectives and exhibits of Palestine solidarity. 

The Prosecutor balanced the allegations with artistic freedom and context. To read the full declaration of the Prosecutor, contact us.


MAJOR UK ART CENTRE APOLOGISES AFTER ASKING SPEAKER TO AVOID TOPIC OF ‘FREE PALESTINE’

After asking Palestinian speaker Elias Anastas, a co-founder of the Palestine-based Radio Alhara, to avoid discussing ”free Palestine” at length during a livestreamed talk on the radical possibilities of radio, the Barbican Centre has now apologised for its intervention calling it an “unacceptable and a serious error of judgement”. The ELSC has advised Artists for Palestine UK, a network of pro-Palestinian artists and culture workers, who have successfully defended this crucial case against the silencing of Palestine! 


GERMAN BROADCASTER DEUTSCHE WELLE TO COMPENSATE JOURNALIST FARAH MARAQA FOR UNLAWFUL DISMISSAL

German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), which fired seven Arab journalists in February 2022 based on allegations of antisemitism, will compensate journalist Farah Maraqa for unlawful dismissal and cover the legal fees, following the Court’s decision on 28 June. More will follow on the DW cases and the legal ramifications of the judgement. Stay tuned! 


SUPPORT BDS AUSTRIA’S BRAVE BATTLE AGAINST THE MUNICIPALITY OF VIENNA  

BDS Austria is still fighting the Municipality’s unjust Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) targeting them for posting a picture of the famous “Visit Apartheid” poster stuck on a billboard along with the City’s logo in 2021.  

What happened in court on 14 July? After the Municipality of Vienna sent a scandalous settlement offer to the activist, the activist’s lawyer stated the reasons why they refused this proposal: the Municipality proposed withdrawing its complaint in exchange for payment of € 17,838.81, which is more than the damages requested in the trial. Moreover, the settlement proposal included a gagging clause preventing the BDS Austria activist from claiming that the City of Vienna had filed “SLAPP lawsuits” and/or “abusive lawsuits” against members of BDS! The judgement is expected to be delivered in a couple of months. The activist and their lawyer Elisabetta Folliero are ready to go up to the European Court of Human Rights to protect fundamental rights, and we will be there every step of the way to support them! We will not let this shameful affront to democracy and free speech stand!

📣 Join us in solidarity with BDS Austria – against the silencing of voices for justice; for the right to solidarity and freedom of expression!📣

SHARE on Twitter and Instagram


AFFY AND ALIYA’S COURT HEARINGS AGAINST THE FINANCIAL GIANT LLOYDS BANK POSTPONED

Affy and Aliya’s hearings against Lloyds Bank have been postponed to 2024. The two women are fighting Lloyds’ discriminatory treatment after the bank sanctioned them for speaking out in support of Palestinian rights. Although their call for justice has been delayed, we will not let it go unanswered! 

Join us and our dedicated supporters like James and Nicola in reaffirming Affy and Aliya’s unity and hope as they continue to fight the violation of their rights and institutionalised racism!


⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️

Consider a monthly donation to the ELSC. Every donation, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.


ELSC NEW REPORT

In June, while the US Administration was releasing its strategy to combat antisemitism and the UN working on its own, we launched our new report exposing the harmful impacts of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA WDA) – which conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel – on the freedoms of expression and assembly in the EU and the UK. The report is the first case-based account of human rights violations resulting from the institutionalisation and application of the controversial IHRA definition by the European Union and the UK.

Our case studies unmask the biased arguments of the European Commission which has ignored and concealed the the repressive realities of the IHRA WDA for years.  

It is time for EU institutions to recognise that the use of the IHRA WDA is infringing fundamental freedoms, causing real harmful effects for individuals and groups exercising their right to free speech in the name of justice! 
 

📣 SHARE on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook and see more in our toolkit 📣 


RIGHT TO BDS

THE RIGHT TO BOYCOTT COALITION TO PUSH BACK AGAINST ANTI-DEMOCRATIC BILL IN THE UK 

The ELSC has joined a coalition of civil society organisation made up of trade unions, charities, NGOs, faith, climate justice, human rights, cultural, campaigning, and solidarity organisations, in opposing the UK government’s proposed law to stop public bodies from advocating for or participating in boycott.  

After a first vote in Parliament, the bill will be debated again in September. What can you do to help protecting our collective rights? 

Do you live in the UK? Write to your MP and ask your Councillors to sign this open letter.

Are you a student in the UK? Check here how the bill would affect your activities and organise to oppose it! 

Check all the materials prepared by the UK Palestine Solidarity Campaign here!


BARCELONA OMBUDSMAN RECOMMENDS BREAKING TIES WITH TEL AVIV: A HISTORICAL PRECEDENT LEADING TO CONCRETE POLITICAL ACTION  

In a ground-breaking resolution, the Office of Barcelona’s Ombudsman recommended in December 2022 that the city revokes its Twinning Agreement with Tel Aviv over concerns about human rights violations committed by Israel against Palestinians. He emphasised that maintaining links with Israel constituted complicity in the commission of the crime of apartheid against Palestinians, thus setting an historical precedent among European public institutions in the denunciation of Israel’s crimes.  

Few months later, Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau suspended relations with Israel. 


ELSC EVENTS

ELSC-SAOT PANEL DISCUSSION 

As part of this year’s SAOT Palestine Solidarity Festival in Berlin, the ELSC organised a panel discussion together with Palestinian activists and journalists, which provided insight into the political context surrounding our struggles and critically assessed the ever-growing anti-Palestinian racism in Germany. 


In line with the festival’s 2023 theme of victory, the discussion opened a conversation on how to successfully push back against these increasing attacks and empower the artist, activist, scholar, journalist, and all those who advocate for freedom and justice.


ELSC ONLINE

ELSC-FMEP PODCAST EPISODE ON THE IHRA DEFINITION 

The ELSC was invited to the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) podcast to talk to Lara Friedman about our new report on the suppression of Palestinian rights advocacy through the IHRA definition of antisemitism. 


ELSC NEW REPORT IN BELGIAN NEWS

Our new report on the IHRA definition was featured in an oped published in Le Soir by our partners from Association belgo-palestinienne (ABP), Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique (UPJB), Een Andere Joodse Stem (EAJS) and Palestina Solidariteit. This comes at a time in which Belgian municipalities face increasing backlash for suspending relations with Israel until it respects international law. 


ELSC’S STATEMENT AGAINST THE NAKBA DEMONSTRATION BANS IN GERMANY ON MONDOWEISS

Read Hebh Jamal’s piece on Mondoweiss referencing our statement against Germany’s criminalisation of Palestinian existence in light of the repeated bans of Nakba commemoration and numerous arrests of anyone and anything visibly Palestinian.  


ELSC FEATURED ON THE NEW ARAB: TOGETHER AGAINST THE UK’S ANTI-BOYCOTT BILL

We spoke with the New Arab on the coalition of more than 70 organisations in the UK who have come together to oppose this bill. Read the article here.  


USEFUL RESOURCES

NEW UN REPORT RAISING SERIOUS CONCERNS ON THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE IHRA DEFINITION ON FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

A new UN report affirms restrictions and harassment of Palestinian civil society through intensified coordination between the Israeli government and pro-Israel groups globally and through the instrumentalisation of the harmful IHRA definition of antisemitism.

📣 SHARE on twitter 📣


REPRESSION IN GERMANY

Watch this short documentary by The New Arab on how Germany’s history of antisemitism is used to silence pro-Palestine activism. The ELSC has published a related short video, exposing how the Berlin police normalised their racist aggression against Palestinians and their allies in Germany in light of the repeated Nakba bans.  


Thank you for your continued support!

In solidarity, 

The ELSC team


Remember to follow the ELSC on social media 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 would like to put your skills (whether legal, editing, artistic, communications, or any other skills) at the service of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.

Categories
Press Release

BREAKING-New Report Reveals Human Rights Violations Resulting from IHRA Definition of Antisemitism 

Amsterdam, 6 June 2023 

Today, the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) launches its new report “Suppressing Palestinian Rights Advocacy through the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism – Violating the Rights to Freedom of Expression and Assembly in the European Union and the UK”. The report is the first case-based account of human rights violations resulting from the institutionalisation and application of the controversial IHRA definition by the European Union and the UK. The growing concerns about the negative human rights impact of the IHRA definition, have so far been ignored by the EU. 

The ELSC report is based on 53 recorded incidents between 2017 and 2022 in Germany, Austria and the UK, in which individuals, groups and organisations were accused of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition. All of the accused were targeted for advocating for Palestinian rights, denouncing Israel’s practices and policies and/or criticising Zionism as a political ideology. When legally challenged, most of these allegations of antisemitism were dismissed as unsubstantiated. 

Analysis of the cases reveals a highly problematic pattern in which the IHRA definition is being implemented. Although it is advertised and promoted as “non-legally binding”, the definition is increasingly used by public and private bodies as if it was law. As a result, the IHRA definition chills free speech and curtails freedom of assembly, resulting in self-censorship of individuals afraid to face allegations of antisemitism.  

As confirmed by the ELSC report, allegations of antisemitism invoking the IHRA definition are overwhelmingly aimed at Palestinians, Jewish activists and organisations advocating for Palestinian rights. This suggests the definition is being implemented in a discriminatory manner. Individuals who are targeted suffer a range of unjust and harmful consequences, including loss of employment and reputational damage. 

Dr Younes, Independent Researcher and (Policy) Writer in Germany, said: 

With the uncritical adoption at the political and academic level across Europe, it has become impossible to voice any critical opinion about Israeli policies in public or in academia without the risk of losing your job, contract, funding or future employment opportunities.

A student activist in a UK university reflected: 

I found that the IHRA definition was deployed as a distraction tactic, where routinely I felt burnt out defending the right to freedom of expression and solidarity with Palestine […] I had crippling anxiety of who I could even trust, as it felt like the IHRA definition was a mode of surveillance in my day-to-day life.

The ELSC report also criticises the European Commission for consistently ignoring and dismissing the growing human rights concerns about the IHRA definition, and for failing to take measures to prevent any adverse impact of it on fundamental rights. 

Giovanni Fassina, director at the ELSC, commented: 

It is time for the European Commission to acknowledge and address that the policy it has been promoting and implementing on the basis of the IHRA definition, both at EU and member state level, is highly detrimental to fundamental rights and that it is fostering anti Palestinian racism.

The ELSC urges the European Commission, as well as the governments, parliaments and public institutions in the EU Member States and the UK, to cease and revoke the endorsement, adoption, promotion and implementation of the IHRA definition. While addressing and enforcing policies to combat antisemitism, the legal obligation of public actors to respect and protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly must be upheld. 

Currently, the United Nations is finalising its “Action Plan on monitoring antisemitism and enhancing a system-wide response”. Recently, the ELSC joined a letter of more than a hundred civil society organisations, urging UN Secretary-General Guterres and High Representative Moratinos not to adopt and apply the IHRA definition. In November 2022, 128 leading scholars in antisemitism, Holocaust Studies and related fields, warned the UN in a public statement against adopting the IHRA definition. In October 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism released a report sharply criticising the IHRA definition. 

——-

READ THE REPORT

Categories
Statement

ELSC Statement: No to the Nakba Demo Bans, End Germany’s Criminalisation of Palestinian Existence 

In another act of state repression, the Berlin police banned all events commemorating 75 years of ongoing Nakba. Following the demonstration ban from 2022, the police disrupted a Palestinian cultural event on 13 May in Neukölln, banning any political public speech, attempting to stop the distribution of books on Palestine on a discretionary basis, and preventing attendees from dancing the traditional Dabka, claiming that it was a form of “political expression”. One of the banned speeches was to be delivered by a member of the ELSC and a partner scholar, Anna Younes (PhD), with the purpose of informing people on their legal rights. Other events that were banned were scheduled for 13, 14 and 20 May 2023: these demonstrations wanted to demand justice for the Palestinian people by remembering the displacement and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the course of the founding of the state of Israel. At least 11 demonstrations on the Nakba have been banned in Berlin since April 2022. 

The justification for the bans is informed by a systematic pattern of anti-Palestinian racism criminalising solidarity with the Palestinian cause for freedom and return, as well as expressions of Palestinian identity. May 2022 already saw immense state repression against Palestinians and their supporters, when the Berlin police preventively banned five registered events commemorating 74 years of ongoing Nakba and honouring Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was murdered by Israeli Occupation Forces while reporting on their invasion of Jenin refugee camp. When individuals peacefully took to the streets to express their solidarity, the Berlin police unleashed a campaign of harassment arresting and beating activists for wearing the Palestinian scarf known as the Kuffiyeh or for being dressed in the colours of the Palestinian flag.  

These anti-democratic measures are enacted as a form of collective punishment directed at anything visibly Palestinian, extending to any expression of collective memory and rights advocacy as seen through the recent bans of demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners in Berlin and beyond. Palestinians in exile commemorating their tragedy, and more generally Arab participants in the demonstrations are dehumanised and framed in the colonial tradition as ”highly emotionalised men” who would “glorify violence” and are “difficult to control”. Neukölln is placed under general suspicion and depicted as a harbour of violence, based on the racist criminalisation of its predominantly migrant, particularly Arab population. The allegations and language used in the prohibition orders, both in 2022 and in 2023, express blatant racism and, in particular, constitute Anti-Palestinian racism – a form of anti-Arab racism that aims to silence, exclude, erase, stereotype, or defame Palestinians and their narratives – towards the Palestinian community in Germany. 

Attacks against the Palestine solidarity movement are ever-growing as Germany upholds its unconditional support for the Israeli occupation and continues to whitewash crimes of apartheid and settler violence. The Berlin government’s actions around Nakba Day reflect Germany’s complicity in the continuing oppression of the Palestinian people, and further constitute a wider assault on the fundamental rights of free speech and assembly. This must be read as a dangerous precedent for further arbitrary curtailments of basic democratic rights. 

These bans are an attack on all of us. The ELSC stands in solidarity with all Palestinians and supporters of the Palestinian cause. As further Palestine solidarity events are planned in the coming days in Berlin, we call on all stakeholders to join us in demanding the protection of the most fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and to support the campaign launched in defence of these rights for Palestinians and their supporters in Germany. 

If you, your group, organisation or otherwise have been intimidated, slandered, repressed, censored or banned from speaking out or participating in Palestine advocacy, or if you have questions about your rights, please reach out to us and complete the incident form

Categories
Urgent call

Human Rights and other Civil Society Groups Urge United Nations to Respect Human Rights in the Fight Against Antisemitism

The United Nations should respect human rights in its efforts to combat antisemitism, more than 100 human rights and civil rights organisations, including the ELSC, said in an open letter to Secretary-General António Guterres and the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos initiated by Human Rights Watch.

Note: Since its release on April 3, this letter has been updated to reflect additional signatories now totaling 104 organizations. The updated list of organizations is appended.

Joint Letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Under Secretary-General Miguel Ángel Moratinos

20 April 2023

Dear UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Under Secretary-General Miguel Ángel Moratinos:

Our coalition of 104 civil society organizations is writing to you to voice our strong support for the United Nations’ commitment to combatting antisemitism in line with international human rights standards. Antisemitism is a pernicious ideology that poses real harm to Jewish communities around the world and requires meaningful action to combat it. Our organizations call on world leaders to condemn antisemitism and to take steps to protect Jewish communities, including holding perpetrators of hate crimes accountable.

As the UN develops its own action plan towards a coordinated and enhanced response to antisemitism rooted in human rights, we are aware that a number of Member State governments and organizations aligned with some of those governments, as well as the former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed, have been advocating that the UN adopt and use the “working definition of antisemitism” of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). We urge the UN not to do so.

The IHRA definition was originally developed to guide research and law enforcement data validation before being used by the IHRA in its work, which includes education about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Adoption of the definition by governments and institutions is often framed as an essential step in efforts to combat antisemitism. In practice, however, the IHRA definition has often been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and thus chill and sometimes suppress, non-violent protest, activism and speech critical of Israel and/or Zionism, including in the US and Europe. Such misuse has also been criticized by the former Special Rapporteur on Racism E. Tendayi Achiume.

Ken Stern, the main drafter of the IHRA definition, recently reiterated his concerns about the institutional adoption of the definition in light of its proposed inclusion in an American Bar Association (ABA) draft resolution on antisemitism. Stern’s concern stems from the IHRA definition’s repeated use as “a blunt instrument to label anyone an antisemite.” In the end, ABA members adopted a resolution on antisemitism that did not reference the IHRA definition. Stern’s message to ABA applies equally to the UN.

Those who use the IHRA definition in this way tend to rely on a set of eleven “contemporary examples of antisemitism” attached to the definition by the IHRA in 2016. Seven of those examples refer to the state of Israel. These examples, which are presented as possible illustrations and indicators to “guide the IHRA in its work”, include:

  • “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination; e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour” and
  • “applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”

The wording of the first example above on “racist endeavour” opens the door to labeling as antisemitic criticisms that Israeli government policies and practices violate the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the findings of major Israeli, Palestinian and global human rights organizations that Israeli authorities are committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians. This example could also be used to label as antisemitic documentation showing that Israel’s founding involved dispossessing many Palestinians; or arguments, also made by some Members of the Israeli Knesset, to transform Israel from a Jewish state into a multiethnic state that equally belongs to all of its citizens – that is, a state based on civic identity, rather than ethnic identity.

The example on “applying double standards” opens the door to labeling as antisemitic anyone who focuses on Israeli abuses as long as worse abuses are deemed to be occurring elsewhere. By that logic, a person dedicated to defending the rights of Tibetans could be accused of anti-Chinese racism, or a group dedicated to promoting democracy and minority rights in Saudi Arabia could be accused of Islamophobia. This example suggests also that it is antisemitic to evaluate Israel as anything but a democracy, also when assessing its actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where it has for more than half a century governed millions of Palestinians who have no say on the most consequential issues affecting their lives and who are deprived of their basic civil rights.

The IHRA qualifies the examples by noting that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic” and that any finding of antisemitism must “[take] into account the overall context.” However, in practice, these disclaimers have failed to prevent the politically motivated instrumentalization of the IHRA definition in efforts to muzzle legitimate speech and activism by critics of Israel’s human rights record and advocates for Palestinian rights.

The targets of accusations of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition have included university students and professors, grassroots organizers, human rights and civil rights organizations, humanitarian groups and members of the US Congress, who either document or criticize Israeli policies and who speak in favor of Palestinian human rights. If the UN endorses the IHRA definition in any shape or form, UN officials working on issues related to Israel and Palestine may find themselves unjustly accused of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition. The same goes for numerous UN agencies, departments, committees, panels and/or conferences, whose work touches on issues related to Israel and Palestine, as well as for civil society actors and human rights defenders engaging with the UN system.

After the United Kingdom’s government adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism at the national level, at least two UK universities in 2017 banned certain activities planned for “Israel Apartheid Week.” One of them, the University of Central Lancashire, banned a panel planned by Friends of Palestine on boycotts of Israel. A university spokesperson stated, “We believe the proposed talk contravenes the [IHRA] definition” of antisemitism “formally adopted” by the government.

In February 2020, Israel advocacy groups in the US challenged Pitzer and Pomona College’s support for a film screening about Palestinian protests in Gaza against Israeli repression and a panel on “Perspectives on Colleges and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” featuring the prominent Jewish commentator Peter Beinart and Palestinian-American Yousef Munayyer, hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The Israel advocacy groups claimed that SJP’s positions, such as its support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, are “clear indicators of anti-Semitism under the examples listed by the IHRA.” In January 2020, Israel advocacy groups called for the University of Michigan to review the agenda for a “Youth for Palestine” conference focused on student activism and community organizing on Palestine, and to “compare it to the IHRA definition,” and consider canceling it over concerns that it will feed antisemitism.

Some advocates of the IHRA working definition have presented it as a non-controversial “consensus definition”. However, many leading antisemitism experts, scholars of Jewish studies and the Holocaust, as well as free speech and anti-racism experts, have challenged the definition, arguing that it restricts legitimate criticism of Israel and harms the fight against antisemitism.

Since 2021, at least two alternative definitions have been put forward: the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism by hundreds of scholars of antisemitism, Holocaust studies, Jewish studies and Middle East studies, as well as the Nexus Document by a task force affiliated with Bard College and the University of Southern California. While acknowledging that criticism of Israel can be antisemitic, these alternative definitions set out more clearly what constitutes antisemitism and provide guidance surrounding the contours of legitimate speech and action around Israel and Palestine.

As an international organization committed to the universal promotion of the rule of law and human rights, the UN should ensure that its vital efforts to combat antisemitism do not inadvertently embolden or endorse policies and laws that undermine fundamental human rights, including the right to speak and organize in support of Palestinian rights and to criticize Israeli government policies.

For these reasons, we strongly urge the UN not to endorse the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

We look forward to assisting the UN’s efforts to combat antisemitism in a way that respects, protects and promotes human rights.

Sincerely,

Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel*

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Mankind

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Amnesty International*

B’Tselem

Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement

Human Rights Watch

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH)

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel

Joined by:

11.11.11

7amleh – The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement

A Different Jewish Voice (Netherlands)*

Academia for Equality*

Africa4Palestine (AFP)

American Friends Service Committee

American Humanist Association*

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)*

Americans for Peace Now*

Arab Canadian Lawyers Association*

Association “Pour Jérusalem”

Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AUDRIP)

Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)

BDS Netherlands

Belgian Academics & Artists for Palestine (BAA4P)

Bisan Center for Research and Development*

Breaking the Silence*

British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES)*

Broederlijk Delen

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)*

Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers)*

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land (CJPHL)*

CCFD-Terre Solidaire

Charity & Security Network*

CIDSE

CNCD-11.11.11

Collectif Judéo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine (CJACP)

Combatants for Peace

Comhlamh Justice for Palestine

Defending Rights & Dissent*

Defense for Children International – Palestine

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)

EuroMed Rights*

European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP)*

European Jews for a Just Peace

European Legal Support Center (ELSC)

European Middle East Project (EuMEP)

Finnish-Arab Friendship Society

Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP)*

Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)*

gate48 – critical Israelis in the Netherlands*

Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ

Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church

Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF)*

IfNotNow*

Independent Australian Jewish Voices (IAJV)*

Independent Jewish Voices Canada

International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)*

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC)*

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (Finland)

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (UK)

Jahalin Solidarity*

Jewish Network for Palestine (UK)

Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East (Germany)

Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL)*

Jewish Voice for Peace – Twin Cities*

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)*

Jews against the Occupation Australia*

Jews for Palestine-Ireland

Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste*

Kairos Ireland

La Cimade (France)

Law for Palestine*

Le Comité de Vigilance pour une Paix Réelle au Proche-Orient (CVPR PO)

Medico international

Mennonite Church Canada Palestine-Israel Network*

Middle East Peace Now*

Minnesota BDS Community*

Mouvement de la paix France

Nederlands Palestina Komitee

One Justice

Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK*

Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO)

Parents Against Child Detention (PACD)

Pax Christi USA

Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Project South*

Promise Institute for Human Rights*

Sadaka – The Ireland-Palestine Alliance*

The Rights Forum

Trinity College Dublin BDS*

Tzedek Collective*

Une Autre Voix Juive (France)

Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP)

United Jewish People’s Order of Canada

United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI)*

University Network for Human Rights

Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)*

Women in Black (Vienna)

* Post-launch signers that joined this letter after its initial release on 3 April 2023

Picture: CC UN Photo/Rick Bajornas Flickr

Categories
Release

Antisemitism, Palestine and academic freedom. Interview with the European Legal Support Center

The ELSC gave an interview to Dr Sevgi Doğan for Security Praxis blog about the impact of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism on academic freedom and unfounded allegations of antisemitism in academia. Read it below.

Original publication on Security Praxis blog: https://securitypraxis.eu/antisemitism-palestine-academic-freedom-interview-elsc/

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) adopted a working definition of antisemitism of 2016 to address the rise in hate and discrimination against Jews. It has been formally adopted by the UK government (2016) and, according to IHRA’s list, by many others, and several university administrations in the United States and the UK.

In some cases the definition has been instrumentalised using the accusation of antisemitism to discredit academics because of their pro-Palestinian stance. Regarding this issue, we interview Giovanni Fassina and Alice Garcia from the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) which is an independent legal organization that provides free legal advice and assistance to advocates for Palestinian rights, and that supports the Palestine solidarity movement in mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. The Center also supports academics, scholars, grassroots activists, NGOs and charities who are facing defamation, bullying and/or repression. They have been working on several cases of restrictions on academic freedom in Austria, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Today, we discuss the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism and its adaptation, restrictions on human rights activists defending the rights of the Palestinian people and the work of scholars whose area of expertise is post-colonial studies, ethnic and religious conflicts, Middle Eastern studies, and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, as well as (self-)censorship. Besides, Giovanni and Alice answer our questions about the role of ELSC to promote freedom of expression and academic freedom.

We thank you for your contribution.

Can you say something about the European Legal Support Center? What is it about?

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is the first and only independent organisation defending and empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe through legal means. We provide free legal advice and assistance to associations, human rights NGOs, groups and individuals advocating for Palestinian rights in Europe, including in the United Kingdom.

The ELSC intervenes to end arbitrary restrictions and criminalisation of peaceful advocacy and humanitarian work. It also develops legal tools and engages in strategic litigation to support civil society advocacy and campaigns.

Our work is rooted in movement lawyering. This means that we take direction from Palestinian civil society to help us use our legal and advocacy skills to challenge structural discrimination and oppression against Palestinians and their allies in a way that empowers them.

In that context, the Center was established in January 2019 as a joint initiative of European jurists, the Palestinian civil society network PNGO and the Dutch NGO The Rights Forum – which is kindly hosting the ELSC in Amsterdam.

What is IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism?

On 26 May 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) adopted a “non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism”, also known as the “IHRA definition”. The definition declares: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

To complement the definition, the IHRA attached a set of eleven examples that serve as illustrations of “contemporary antisemitism”, seven of which relate to Israel. You can read more background on how the definition and its examples came to be adopted by the IHRA here. These examples welcome a conflation of legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies with antisemitism. In fact, according to a recent report by former UN Special Rapporteur, Ms. E. Tendayi Achiume, on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the examples “are being invoked and leveraged to suppress fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and political participation, as well as human rights to equality and non-discrimination”.

In this respect, numerous initiativesinstitutions, civil society organisations in Europe and beyond, and academics, including Jewish scholars and Palestinian scholars, have levelled criticism at the instrumentalisation of the IHRA definition as a tool to discredit legitimate objections to the Israeli government’s policies and actions. Crucially, even the IHRA definition’s lead author himself, Kenneth Stern, has cautioned against its weaponisation and, most recently, as UN bodies are being pressured into adopting the IHRA definition, more than 100 scholars signed a letter denouncing its detrimental effects on academic freedom.

While the IHRA definition is a non-binding instrument, governments and academic institutions throughout Europe have been as their new policy to combat antisemitism despite the well-documented risks for fundamental rights it carries. Indeed, former Special Rapporteur Tendayi Achiume observed that “it is precisely the IHRA-WDA’s ‘soft law’ status, which effectively helps undermine certain co-existent rights, without offering any remedy or means to legally challenge such violations”.

How does it affect universities and academic freedom? Can you see it as an instrument to limit academic freedom?

Universities are being pressured into adopting the IHRA definition by their governments. As a result, more than 200 British universities have incorporated the definition into their policies, and limitations to academic freedom and discussion have already been reported. The IHRA definition has thus become a binding policy in many universities, which has already led to students and staff members being subjected to disciplinary proceedings under it.

The case of Shahd Abusalama (see further details below) illustrates how unfounded accusations of antisemitism often cost scholars and academics their jobs and reputation. Though such accusations are consistently disproven and dismissed, they instill the fear of being subjected to arbitrary disciplinary proceedings in the first place.

Similar cases have also emerged in Germany and Austria, where allegations of antisemitism supported by the IHRA definition have been used as a tool to silence academics, thus limiting their academic freedom and, more broadly, their freedom of expression. Notable cases include the cancellation of Dr. Walaa Alqaisiya’s lecture at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, as well as Dr. Anna-Esther Younes’ surveillance and disinvitation from an event organised by the Berlin chapter of political party The Left (Die Linke).

The formal inclusion of the IHRA definition within university policies and its use as a tool to discredit legitimate speech thus results in an arbitrary stigmatisation of academics who dare to speak their mind about Palestine and can lead to a climate of fear and self-censorship that gravely harms academia and Palestinian rights advocacy at large.

Do you think one day this kind of statement, or definition can lead to universities to accept it otherwise they can be accused of anti-Semitism?

Yes, this is a concrete risk. As previously stated, universities are encouraged, including by their governments, to adopt the IHRA definition as an internal policy through a practice bordering improper interference with institutional autonomy. For instance, the UK government, in the person of the education secretary, has threatened funding cuts if universities refuse to adopt the definition.

Despite the governmental pressure, university bodies in the UK have rejected the definition. For instance, following University College London (UCL)’s adoption of the IHRA definition, its Academic Board called on the university to retract the definition and seek an alternative one. Such instances have led to various criticisms raised against academic institutions – although as of yet, no accusations of antisemitism. The latest example comes from the University of Aberdeen, which refused to adopt the IHRA definition and was soon accused of silencing Jewish voices and of taking a “scandalous position” on the matter. Such public accusations can damage a university’s reputation and detract the attention from the actual and pressing concerns raised by the IHRA definition in itself. However, UCL’s Academic Board and Aberdeen’s positions should be amplified and followed by others, as emblems of the defence of academic freedom.

Can you give some examples of the cases that the scholars were dismissed because of their works or critics about the conflict between Israeli and Palestine? One of the example as I know is from University of Bristol in 2021 where a professor of sociology David Miller lost his job because of his comment on Israel by accusation of antisemitism and another example is professor of Cornell University Architecture, Art, and Planning (Cornell AAP), Samia Henni, whose office was recently broken and looted, and who has been subjected to the online hate harassment in 2020/2021 after her publication (The Coloniality of an Executive Order) and lecture, “Palestine is There, Where it Has Always Been,” that she convened at Cornell University.

The cases of Dr. Anna-Esther Younes in Germany and Dr. Walaa Alqaisiya in Austria saw both scholars being brutally disinvited from events in which they were supposed to present their work. Both specialised in decolonial perspectives, and both were accused of antisemitism because of their academic research and publications on Palestine/Israel. Their subjection to smear campaigns and, in Dr. Younes’ case, to illegitimate surveillance, has severely damaged their reputation amongst the academic community – so much so that, despite the refutation of the allegations, it is still difficult for them to reclaim a space in academia. This goes to show how scholars on Palestine/Israel in Europe are sometimes compelled to self-censor in order to avoid groundless accusations, stigmatisation and even isolation from their peers.

In the UK, Dr. Shahd Abusalama was subjected to an internal investigation by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) over a Twitter thread she posted. As part of this investigation, she was suspended a day before her teaching position was supposed to start. Thanks to a powerful worldwide public campaign supported by the Sheffield Hallam UCU, civil society organisations, academics, students, and the ELSC, the university lifted the suspension six days later, and dropped the investigation. A few months later, SHU launched a second investigation which cleared Shahd – yet again. This investigation was confidential, and in breach of a settlement agreement reached between Sheffield Hallam and Dr. Abusalama, a Senior University Official used this information to further smear Shahd in the press.

These are only a few examples that illustrate the risks Palestinian scholars, and academics working on Palestine/Israel more broadly, face on a daily basis. As Dr. Alqaisiya’s case shows, not only are universities resorting to the IHRA definition, but other pro-Israel actors are increasingly using the definition to back their allegations of antisemitism.

As the examples above and the case of David Miller show, the instances of scholars being silenced, dismissed, investigated and as a result alienated from the academic world are growing at a worrying pace throughout various European countries. The broad adoption of the IHRA definition encourages this trend by giving an appearance of soundness to the claim that criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism.

How do the scholars at risk reach you?

Scholars at risk often find us through the solidarity movement, friends, relatives or online, on our website or social media. Anyone who wishes to reach out to the ELSC to request legal support or to report an incident of repression, including a limitation of their academic freedom based on their voices being raised to speak about Palestine/Israel, is welcome to do so through our website. We do our best to promptly get back to them and provide the support they need.

What kind of cases do you encounter? For what reason usually the scholars are accused of anti-Semitism or dismissed?

Most of the time, the scholars we defend write and teach on Palestine/Israel or the Middle East, or they are sympathetic to the Palestinian people’s struggle to access their fundamental rights. Some are also active on the topic in their personal, rather than professional, capacity. They sign petitions, go to protests, and/or express their opinions on this topic through their personal social media.

Usually, scholars face complaints (often anonymous) for alleged antisemitism and/ or smear campaigns from pro-Israel media or advocacy groups based on social media posts, academic articles, or other initiatives related to their activism. It is important to mention that, so far, all the scholars we support have been cleared of the allegations (or their case is still pending), for the very simple reason that they are baseless. Indeed, the allegations predominantly refer to conduct or actions that equate legitimate criticism of the Israeli State or its policies, or of Zionism as a political ideology, and have nothing to do with antisemitism. It is also important to add that those scholars keep being active on Palestine, and we strongly believe that our legal intervention and the many cases we have won deter the usual complainants to keep going with their unfounded allegations.

It seems that these cases are not talked a lot. Why do you think about this silence?

These cases are often underreported because universities are hesitant to get involved with an issue that some voices deem “controversial”. Universities fear that complaints and accusations may expose them and put their reputation on the line, even after academics are vindicated. There is a “Palestine Exception” in academia, as Palestine Legal documented in its landmark report concerning the US context.

The scholars themselves are sometimes afraid to speak out about their experience, because even a wrongful accusation of antisemitism entails a heavy and lasting stigma to one’s name. There is undue shame and taboo around the topic and speaking out can risk one’s career. It is what we call the chilling effect, which affects not only the people who are directly targeted but also their whole community. The chilling effect manifests itself in self-censorship and shrinking civic space, which interferes with the right to freedom of expression, including academic freedom, and the right of the public to receive accurate information on Palestine/Israel. This poses a threat to the safeguarding of fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.

However, it is crucial to break this pattern and build a support network that speaks out and expresses support for targeted scholars. This in turn helps academics feel safe to speak their minds without fear of retaliation and to see their reputation restored. Pushing back is possible, as we have experienced, and it is necessary if we want to challenge the restrictive policies and tactics aimed at silencing the voices that are critical of Israel or other apartheid or colonial regimes.

Academic freedom, according to UNESCO’s definition of 1997, is “[…] the right, without constriction by prescribed doctrine, to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying out research and disseminating and publishing the results thereof, freedom to express freely their opinion about the institution or system in which they work, freedom from institutional censorship and freedom to participate in professional or representative academic bodies”. As a lawyer what do you think about academic freedom?

As stated by former Special Rapporteur and Professor of Law Tendayi Achiume, academic freedom must be interpreted as “the freedom of individuals, as members of academic communities (e.g., faculty, students, staff, scholars, administrators and community participants) or in their own pursuits, to conduct activities involving the discovery and transmission of information and ideas, and to do so with the full protection of human rights law.” Thus, academics must enjoy the right to academic freedom in its broadest ‘extramural’ meaning, that is not only in their institutional and on-campus activities, but also in their role as educators and commentators in their private sphere.

The European Court of Human Rights has also acknowledged the importance of academic freedom as a corollary of the broader right to freedom of expression, protected under Article 10 of the ECHR. Article 10 is particularly important, as it applies not only to “information” or “ideas” that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. The undeniable importance of freedom of expression, and by extension of academic freedom, justifies a strictly limited interference with this right, in exceptional and narrowly prescribed circumstances.

How can/should university community take action about these cases and protect academic freedom?

The university community’s support is vital in supporting scholars and protecting the academic freedom of the community as a whole. Materially, members of the university community can amplify cases and campaigns, such as that of Dr. Younes, to end censorship and surveillance of academics in Germany. Letters, statements and campaigns in support of academics who are facing such restrictions on their academic freedom can be signed and spread throughout professional and personal networks. The university community must speak out collectively, and we welcome you to support and follow the work done by the ELSC and other organisations and activist groups working on this topic. It is crucial to distribute information about the danger of adopting and applying the IHRA definition of antisemitism within universities.


Cover photo generated with Stable Diffusion, prompted with “Abuses of the accusation of antisemitism” and some style directions.

Categories
Fundraising Campaign

Help us carry on our fight for justice for Palestinian rights advocates

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.

— British academic supported by the ELSC

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.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: October 2022

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!

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter!

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“.

📝 Amplify BDS Austria’s statement 📝


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.

📣 Share the good news on TwitterInstagram and Facebook 📣

SUPPORT FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS – TAKE ACTION  

  • Support the activist’s legal battle and donate 
  • Sign the petition to demand the Municipality of Vienna ends its lawfare against legitimate BDS action

⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️

Consider a monthly donation to the ELSC. Every donation, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.

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!

📣 Amplify our Twitter thread 📣


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.

📣 Share the news on InstagramFacebook and Twitter 📣

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 SaxonyCologneHesseBavaria 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.


ONGOING CAMPAIGNS IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINE 

Meta, Let Palestine Speak!

Hold Meta accountable for censoring Palestinian content on social media.

#StopSettlements

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!

#JusticeForSalah

Take action for Salah Hammouri, the Palestinian-French lawyer imprisoned in administrative detention.

#FreeAhmadManasra

Support the campaign for the release of the young Ahmad Manasra, detained in Israeli jails and suffering from serious consequences to his mental health.


EVENTS

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.

Categories
Case Update

Dr Anna Younes Surveillance’s Case: the Fight Continues with Two New Lawsuits

On 2 November 2022, exactly three years after she discovered RIAS’ covert surveillance of her activities and after two legal victories, Dr Anna Younes launches two new lawsuits. She requests the Administrative Court of Berlin to find the preparation and transmission of the secret dossier on her unlawful, and she requests compensation.

On November 1 2019, RIAS/MBR shared a secret dossier it had compiled on Dr Anna Younes with the head of Die Linke/The Left, framing her as an anti-Jewish racist, sexist, and terrorist sympathizer. This led to her hasty disinvitation from a panel discussion held the next day by the political party Die Linke/The Left. Three years later, the scholar is continuing her legal battle against this surveillance and censorship.

Dr Younes has already two legal victories to her credit since the Berlin District Court ordered RIAS/MBR to provide Dr Younes access to the secret dossier and the Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA) ruled that RIAS/MBR violated European data protection law. However, the DPA found the preparation and transmission of the dossier by RIAS/MBR lawful on the basis of their ‘legitimate interest’ in influencing political actors. In doing so, the DPA failed to motivate its decision and to take into consideration the fundamental rights, freedoms, and interests of the scholar.

Today, Dr Younes demands that the administrative court review the controversial DPA’s decision and acknowledge that RIAS/MBR’s surveillance and false labelling of Dr Younes as an anti-Jewish racist violated her right to privacy and right to reputation.

In addition, she is filing a new civil lawsuit so that judges finally find the preparation and transmission of the dossier unlawful and order RIAS/MBR to cease the collection of her personal data. Dr Younes will also request compensation for the ensuing harm inflicted by RIAS/MBR for over two years.

The two lawsuits are of paramount importance to challenge the repressive practices exercised by state-funded organisations such as RIAS Berlin and MBR. As long as German courts do not confirm their unlawfulness, those methods would become common-practice, unfettered and conducted without consideration of the individuals’s reputation and fundamental rights and freedoms. This is a crucial and collective legal battle.

Giovanni Fassina, Director of the ELSC.

Indeed, Dr Younes is not alone in facing smears, repression and censorship for exercising her freedom of expression and bringing the Palestinian narrative into the public discourse around racism. For this reason, third parties will also intervene in the administrative lawsuit to portray the extent of the harm inflicted by such surveillance practices.

TAKE ACTION

Read more about the case and watch this video

Read and sign the support letter

Listen to the podcast featuring Dr Younes, Inna Michaeli and Alice Garcia (Advocacy and Communications Manager at ELSC

Donate to support Dr Younes in her legal battle as she reclaims her rights in court

Categories
Statement

Joint Statement in Response to Dismissal of NUS President Shaima Dallali

The ELSC signed a joint statement with other organisations in the UK to condemn the dismissal of NUS Shaima Dallali.

We are dismayed to see that the NUS’ investigation into their elected president, Shaima Dallali, has been allowed to reach this conclusion.

The disciplinary investigation into Ms. Dallali was triggered after pressure from the Government and the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) which led to a wider investigation into antisemitism within the NUS. We, amongst a range of legal, community, student and rights organisations have raised questions about the credibility of this process as a genuine anti-racist exercise. The dismissal of Ms. Dallali, and the discrimination which we consider that she has been subjected to, only exacerbates these concerns. We understand that Ms. Dallali is considering her right to appeal the dismissal and to bring Tribunal proceedings over the NUS’ treatment and dismissal of her.

We recognise the considerable political pressure put on the NUS to initiate and reach ‘the right result’ in these two investigatory processes. However, in bowing to this pressure, the NUS has undermined its own commitment to anti-racism, including the fight against antisemitism, and has abandoned its duty of care to its elected President. Ms. Dallali has been subjected to the most intense public scrutiny and horrifying abuse, including death threats. This is not the first time a Muslim woman of colour has had her social media trawled, her internet presence scrutinised, and her ability to do her elected role obstructed by a media-stoked outrage that ends up conflating legitimate criticisms of Israel with antisemitism. Unfortunately for Ms. Dallali, her grave concerns over her safety have been completely side-lined.

The refusal to accept Ms. Dallali’s unreserved apology for one tweet from a decade ago when she was a teenager, while publicising a number of spurious allegations around her support for Palestinian rights, speaks volumes about the nature of the NUS’ investigation. The fact that the decision to dismiss Ms. Dallali was leaked and published in the Jewish News and the Jewish Chronicle, and reportedly shared with the Government and the Leader of the Opposition, before she had even been notified, is wholly inappropriate and beggars belief.

From the outset of the dual investigations, we raised fundamental concerns about the framework for investigation and the failure to acknowledge how conflation of antisemitism with legitimate critique of Israeli oppression has been utilised to silence Palestinians and those who support their rights. The inclusion, for example, amongst the published allegations against Ms. Dallali, that she had tweeted ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ and had participated in a protest at KCL against the presence on campus of a former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, made clear a failure from the outset to distinguish between genuine antisemitism and legitimate advocacy for the rights of Palestinians.

We have also raised concerns about the disproportionate involvement of the UJS, who were given significant authority in the framing of the investigation and the appointment of the Independent Investigator. Whilst we recognise the need for the NUS to consult with a body representing Jewish students in addressing concerns about antisemitism, the degree of prioritisation of a single interested party violates due process.

It also fails to take into account the role the UJS has played in the conflation of antisemitism and legitimate critique of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people, including promoting resources which suggest that it is inherently antisemitic to advocate for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel or to describe Israel as a state practising the crime of apartheid.

In this regard we note that the formal disciplinary process against Ms. Dallali was, in part, triggered by her public statements criticising Israel for its discriminatory laws and policies, and her calling out of the UJS on social media, prior to being elected president, for its evidenced activities aiming to silence advocacy for Palestinian rights. It is deeply concerning that criticism of the UJS for its overtly political pro-Israel advocacy has been reframed as evidence of hostility to all Jewish students, and thereby seen as grounds for dismissal.

Whilst we await the report into the broader investigation, Ms. Dallali’s dismissal renews our deep concerns that its likely outcome, rather than combatting the very real problem of antisemitism, will instead contribute to anti-Palestinian racism and the silencing of legitimate advocacy for Palestine.

In responding to this situation in this manner, we believe the NUS has made a series of misjudgments and reached an outcome that does precisely the opposite of its purported aim. It needs to embark on the significant task facing it to repair the damage done by this investigation and rebuild trust with students who are doing crucial anti-racism work, including those advocating for Palestinian rights and working to combat Islamophobia and antisemitism.

Signatories:

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

British Palestinian Committee

Diaspora Alliance

European Legal Support Centre

Muslim Association of Britain

Palestinian Forum in Britain

Categories
Media Coverage

A Member of UK Lawyers for Israel Provides “Expert Opinion” to Support a Teacher Sanctioned for Antisemitism

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) member, Lesley Klaff, provided “expert witness testimony in support of a pro-Israel teacher accused of posting antisemitic material. Her testimony contradicts UKLFI’s usual position on anti-Zionist commentary. In April 2022, she testified to a Panel for the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) that the IHRA definition of antisemitism is not to be interpreted strictly, but rather on a case-by-case basis, and that it should not be used to sanction people or restrict their freedom of speech.

Lesley Klaff’s testimony in support of someone who made vile, antisemitic sentiments appears to deviate from UKLFI’s modus operandi. However, the teacher’s political position as a pro-Israel supporter gives context to her sudden determination to stand behind him.

Edward Sutherland, religious education teacher and ex-Convenor of the Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland (COFIS), used a pseudonym to post antisemitic material on Facebook in a fruitless attempt to “bait” and “expose” Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) members as racist, hoping that the antisemitic slurs would elicit supportive responses from SPSC. This case is just the latest in a line of attacks carried out by pro-Israel groups, utilising fake profiles to defame Palestinian rights advocates and silence any criticism of Israel’s apartheid regime and Zionism as a political ideology. The antisemitic commentary included plainly offensive statements, such as: “[l]ooks like a certain Zio’s big nose is out of joint”.

Lesley Klaff’s testimony that such commentary “was not unequivocally antisemitic” and that there is a clear distinction between antisemitism and anti-Zionism[1] diverges drastically from UKLFI’s usual approach to anti-Zionist commentary.

UKLFI is a legal advocacy and campaigning organisation based in the UK that has been attempting to smear and disrupt the work of Palestinian human rights groups and their partners for years. Since the UK government adopted the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism in December 2016, UKLFI has strongly advocated for a rigorous implementation of the definition and its examples. UKLFI has stressed on multiple occasions that anti-Zionism and criticism of the state of Israel constitute antisemitism, and so has Lesley Klaff.

However, in this case, Klaff has interpreted the IHRA definition in an entirely different way. According to the minutes of Sutherland’s hearing, initially published on the GTSC’s website – the page has since been removed but the link is still available here – Klaff declared that:

Zionism relates to being pro-Israel as a political entity, and antisemitism as being anti-Jewish in a racial and religious sense. With no ‘concrete’ determination of antisemitism within the IHRA definition, consideration of any comments as being antisemitic required account to be taken of the context and all of the circumstances in each case.

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.

Lesley Klaff’s testimony reveals manipulation and insincerity in how the IHRA definition is used by pro-Israel organisations not as a tool to combat antisemitism but, rather, a tool to censor Palestinian rights advocacy through the false conflation of criticism of Zionism with antisemitism. It, therefore, seems fitting that a UKLFI member acknowledges that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism purely in support of a pro-Israel individual who posted abusive antisemitic content online in an attempt to thwart Palestinian rights advocacy. The genuine offensiveness of Mr Sutherland’s comments, which were upheld as antisemitic in spite of Lesley Klaff’s testimony, brings into question UKLFI’s motivations, and that of some of its members, when putting forward the general stance that anti-Zionism equals antisemitism. This case highlights the inconsistency underpinning UKLFI’s equation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism and its exploitation of antisemitism for political gain.

References

References
1 She stated: “Zionism relates to being pro-Israel as a political entity, and antisemitism as being anti-Jewish in a racial and religious sense.”
Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: September 2022

Throughout the past few months, the solidarity movement has won several victories in pushing back against repression. Through legal challenge and public advocacy, it is possible to make our critical voices heard!
 
We need your continued support to keep up the crucial fight for freedom of expression and Palestinian rights.

And don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter!

GERMANY: TWO SUCCESSFUL LAWSUITS AGAINST DEUTSCHE WELLE

In July 2022, we witnessed the first victory for a journalist involved in the Deutsche Welle (DW) case that began back in February 2022, when the public broadcaster fired seven Arab journalists based on allegations of antisemitism. The Bonn Labour Court found that the dismissal of Palestinian journalist Maram Salem by the German outlet was unlawful

Then, in September 2022, the Berlin Labour Court ruled in favour of Farah Maraqa, ordering DW to reinstate her and cover the costs of the legal dispute.

The ELSC is proud to have supported Farah Maraqa, who stood firm in her convictions and had the courage to take DW to court.

📣 Share the good news on Twitter and Instagram! 📣

However, the DW management seems to have institutionalised its prejudiced stance in a new Code of Conduct that mentions Israel twice, including: “Due to Germany’s history, we have a special obligation towards Israel.” It is unclear what obligations this statement is implying for DW employees or subcontractors. This raises important questions related to press independence.


⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️


NETHERLANDS: A POSITIVE PRESS COUNCIL DECISION FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES

In August 2022, the Dutch Press Council ruled that Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad acted carelessly by publishing allegations of antisemitism against The Rights Forum without hearing them.

This is an important achievement considering the Dutch NGO has been facing a harsh smear campaign since the beginning of the year, after it filed a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) seeking to research ties between Dutch universities and pro-Israel advocacy groups as well as Israeli institutions, government agencies and Israeli arms, surveillance and security companies.

The Rights Forum also achieved a significant victory against disinformation. After the organisation alerted Google about a Google ad sponsored by the Israeli government labelling Amnesty International as antisemitic, Google took down the ad within one day.


DOCUMENTA FIFTEEN: “WE ARE DETERMINED, WE ARE TOGETHER, WE ARE NOT GIVING UP”

On 25 September 2022, the world’s largest contemporary art exhibition, documenta fifteen, closed after months of brutal and unfounded allegations against the curators ruangrupa, members of the artistic team and participating artists. Palestinian artists and others who expressed solidarity with them faced smears, insults, assaults, death threats, cyber harassment and vandalism.

In the latest development, a committee appointed to investigate antisemitism into documenta fifteen issued a very controversial preliminary report and a statement accusing the lumbung community (ruangrupa and artists) of Israel-related antisemitism. The community responded with a powerful statement denouncing racism, Eurocentrism and censorship.

📣 Share and express your solidarity on Twitter and Instagram📣


VIENNA: NEW COURSE AT VIENNA FINE ARTS ACADEMY SIGNALS FURTHER ERASURE OF PALESTINIAN NARRATIVE

The Austrian institution that censored Palestinian academic Dr. Walaa Alqaisiyia will host a course entitled “Antiantianti – Conflicts about Antiantisemitism and Antiracism in the Politicized Art World” and will be using Walaa’s disinvitation as a case study.

The abstract of the course clearly displays a pro-Israel bias and misrepresents the Palestine solidarity movement. We condemn the holding of a course that is likely to fuel insidious censorship of genuine anti-racist discourse.

📣 Share on TwitterInstagram and Facebook📣


#STOPTRADEWITHSETTLEMENTS: A NEW PARTNER IN THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN EU TRADE WITH ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS

Avaaz just joined the #StopTradeWithSettlements coalition and calls on everyone to sign the European Citizens’ Initiative to ban EU trade with illegal settlements!

📣 Share the campaign on TwitterInstagram and Facebook📣

Friends of the Earth Europe also published a compelling and important blog post over the summer. The largest grassroots environmental network in Europe explains the link between food sovereignty in Palestine and Israeli settlements, highlighting the necessity to stop all EU trade with the latter.


#STANDWITHTHE6: A NEW PHASE OF REPRESSION AGAINST PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

On the morning of 18 August 2022, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided the offices of seven Palestinian organisations including the six that were designated as “terrorist” by the Israeli government in October 2021. The IOF confiscated documents and equipment, destroyed material, sealed entrance doors and left military orders ordering the closure of the organisations. Over 150 organisations, including the ELSC, demanded the international community take all the necessary action to support and protect Palestinian human rights defenders.

So far, the EU has remained quiescent on the matter, as it has regarding the protection of French-Palestinian human rights defender Salah Hammouri.  For the past two decades, Salah has been subjected to constant harassment and deprivation of his fundamental rights by Israeli authorities. His three-month administrative detention based on “secret evidence” was again renewed at the beginning of September 2022 and he has now been transferred into solitary confinement. Along with other political prisoners, Salah began a hunger strike on 25 September and has since been deprived of salt. Read more in the urgent letter sent to French President Emmanuel Macron by Salah’s lawyers.

📣 Join the #JusticeforSalah campaign and amplify it on Twitter and Instagram  📣

Undeterred by these worrying recent developments which contradict the basic principles of international law, the EU continues to tighten its cooperation with Israel by convening the EU-Israel Association Council after 10 years amid widespread protest from PalestinianEuropean, and international civil society organisations.


RESOURCES & NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE AND BEYOND

#PromisedLand: the Italian centre for investigative journalism Irpi Media launched a series of reports exposing the links between the Israeli government and far-right parties in Europe. The first piece of “Promised Land”, authored by journalists Christian Elia and Lorenzo Bagnoli, shows how the Italian far-right cultivates relationships with antisemitic figures while strongly supporting Israel’s policies, including silencing pro-Palestine voices.

📣 Amplify on Twitter 📣


Our Canadian partners, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), are launching a pivotal report on the suppression of speech concerning Palestine in Canada. Join the report launch event with a panel of brilliant activists and scholars, including Anna-Esther Younes.

📣 Share on Twitter and Instagram  📣

Dr Anna-Esther Younes has herself been facing ongoing attempts to suppress her voice as a Palestinian decolonial scholar. Read more about her case and how you can help us push back against increasing repression in Europe below:


The ELSC recently joined CASE, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe! We are happy to join other non-governmental organisations united in recognition of the threat posed to public watchdogs by SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). SLAPPs are an abuse of the legal system and an attempt to intimidate and silence public watchdogs, including Palestinian rights advocates, through lengthy and expensive litigation that drains a target’s resources and seeks to dissuade critical voices.

With CASE, we will work to expose legal harassment and intimidation, protect the rights of those who speak out and advocate for comprehensive protective measures and reform. As part of this work, the ELSC will join the next European Anti-SLAPP Conference in Strasbourg on 20 October 2022.


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.

Photo: CC Jan-Hendrik Pelz12, “An Inner Place” talk at the documenta fifteen exhibition.

Categories
Case Update Press Release

New Course at Vienna Fine Arts Academy Signals Further Erasure of Palestinian Narrative

The ELSC expressly condemns the holding of a course that is likely to fuel insidious censorship of genuine anti-racist discourse.

In May 2022, Palestinian scholar Dr. Walaa Alqaisiya was hastily disinvited from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts’ Spring Curatorial Programme: Art Geographies. While the Academy refused to apologise and to clarify the internal process that led to her censorship, Walaa and her supporters pushed back and obtained the withdrawal of the remainder of the event from the Academy’s premises.

Adding insult to injury, the Academy is now hosting a year-long course entitled “Antiantianti: Conflicts about Antiantisemitism and Antiracism in the Politicized Art World”. While Eduard Freudmann and Petja Dimitrova, the course organisers, purportedly intend to reflect on “develop[ing] practices of solidarity that are simultaneously anti-racist and anti-anti-Semitic”, the abstract manifestly misrepresents the Palestine solidarity movement. It states that, “for decades, the conflict served as a projection screen for a political left” and that “supporting the Palestinian cause was taken for granted”.

Moreover, the course organisers chose two subjects of study: Dr. Alqaisiya’s disinvitation and the dismantling of an artwork in this year’s documenta edition. Neither Dr. Alqaisiya nor any contributor to the documenta fifteen exhibition were contacted prior to the preparation of this course. By cherry-picking two isolated incidents, Freudmann and Dimitrova deliberately extricate them from their broader context and thereby exclude entire fragments of the events.

In particular, the full picture of racism, and specifically anti-Palestinian racism, which took place in both instances, is absent from the course description, and its importance is explicitly downplayed. Had the course organisers intended to engage in a fully informed discussion on anti-racism, the abstract should have referred to a comprehensive factual overview, including the accounts relating to Dr. Alqaisiya’s differential treatment and to the unabashed, systematic racism that occurred at documenta fifteen.

The course further intends to study “different definitions of racism and antisemitism”, which begs the question – will the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and its examples be used as a parameter for discussion? If so, the course would likely steer the conversation away from anti-racism by eliminating the Palestinian narrative in favour of a widely criticised definition of antisemitism that conflates legitimate criticism of the Israeli state with antisemitism. This equation is extremely harmful to the global struggle against racism and the just pleas of the oppressed Palestinian people.

A space must be provided in academia for the free expression of sentiments of Palestinian solidarity, without repression. The ELSC therefore strongly condemns the maintenance of this course under the preconceptions expressed in its abstract, which is likely to harm individuals who are already facing outrageous smears and attacks.


Photo: Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Schillerplatz 3, 1st district of Vienna, Peter Haas / CC BY-SA 3.0

Categories
Press Release

Berlin Data Protection Authority Holds RIAS/MBR Accountable for Violating Dr. Younes’ Data Rights

On 16 May 2022, the Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA) decided in favour of Dr. Anna Younes and issued a warning against VDK, representing RIAS Berlin and MBR. The two organisations had prepared a secret dossier on Dr. Younes, which aimed at identifying “her positions on Israel and BDS”. The dossier also framed her as supporter of terrorism, sexism and anti-Jewish racism and resulted in her disinvitation from a public event on anti-racism organised by Die Linke in November 2019. Furthermore, the DPA rejected RIAS/MBR’s claim and stated that they “did not have a serious scientific purpose” nor a journalistic one when preparing this dossier. After almost two years, the DPA finally found RIAS/MBR violated European data protection law (GDPR) and recognised Dr. Younes’ basic data rights as a German citizen. Further legal action will be taken.

Nearly two years after Dr. Younes filed a complaint to the Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA), the DPA issued a final decision on RIAS/MBR’s duty to provide access to her data. This decision follows a months-long public media campaign as well as a lawsuit brought against the DPA for its inactivity, both designed to expedite the legal process and obtain reparation for the damage inflicted on Dr. Younes. This decision also comes after a first victory for Dr. Younes in the beginning of May 2022, as a district court ruled in her favour and RIAS/MBR disclosed a part of the information they collected on her – namely, the dossier, which had been leaked to Dr. Younes. RIAS/MBR state in their answer to the DPA that they collected information on Dr. Younes in order to “identify her positions on Israel and BDS.

The DPA’s decision finally upheld Dr. Younes’ right to obtain access to the personal data collected by RIAS/MBR as ensured by European and German data protection law. In so doing, it rejected RIAS/MBR’s claims that the covert data gathering and sharing pursued journalistic and research purposes, which would have entitled the organisations to an exemption from providing this information.

Indeed, the DPA found that RIAS/MBR failed to follow a scientific methodology and limited itself to creating a “compilation of publicly accessible facts without deriving any new findings on them”. The DPA further rejected the invocation of a journalistic privilege, considering that the dossier was “explicitly not intended for publication and thus cannot represent an indirect contribution to the formation of public opinion”.

For these reasons, the DPA held that RIAS/MBR had violated article 15(1) of the GDPR on the right of access by the data subject. In this regard, Dr. Younes and the ELSC welcome the DPA’s decision.

Nonetheless, the DPA deemed that the framing of the data and its private transmission of the dossier to Die Linke was lawful, without explaining the grounds for said surveillance in the first place. Nor did this decision take into consideration Dr. Younes’ right to reputation, to not be misrepresented as having an “Antisemitic attitude”. 

After more than two years, it is a relief that the DPA held RIAS/MBR MBR accountable, whose conduct amounts to surveillance. We welcome the DPA’s decision that RIAS/MBR cannot legitimate their conduct on pretences of journalism or an ostensible scientific activity. Nevertheless, we deeply disagree with the DPA that RIAS/MBR’s preparation and transmission of the dossier was legitimate, as this resulted in significant damage to Dr. Younes’ professional and personal reputation and sends a clear message to all Palestinians in Germany. We will appeal the decision.

Giovanni Fassina, Director of the ELSC.

Read more about the case and watch this video

Donate to support the case

Read and sign the support letter

Listen to the podcast featuring Dr Younes, Inna Michaeli and Alice Garcia (Advocacy and Communications Manager at ELSC)

Visual: © ELSC. CC Watermelon Emoji Icon on IconScout

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: April 2022

This month was marked by the launch of the campaign in support of German-Palestinian scholar Dr. Anna Younes. She is a German Palestinian academic who has been subjected to several disinformation campaigns and surveilled. In 2019, she discovered that a secret dossier circulated about her, distorting her academic work and other data to frame her as anti-Jewish racist, sexist and as a terrorist sympathizer. After two long years of proceedings with the Berlin Data Protection Authority that failed to issue a final decision on her case, Dr. Younes is now filing two lawsuits to seek justice.

This case illustrates the increasing violation of democratic principles with respect to Palestinian rights advocates across Europe and Germany in particular. It infringes on the right to privacyfreedom of expression and the participation in public life of anti-racist and decolonial advocates in Europe. Read here Middle East Eye’s report on the case.

READ MORE

Thanks to your support we aimed to raise more than 600 euros to sustain Dr. Younes’ legal costs. We need more help to cover the total costs of the lawsuits and support other advocates in Germany who might face surveillance as well.

DONATE

Over 500 scholars, activists, artists, organisations and human rights defenders signed a letter to support Dr. Anna Younes and other scholars, activists and journalists against censorship and surveillance in Germany. Angela Davis, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky, Roger Waters and others signed the letter, join them!

SIGN

Share the campaign on TwitterInstagram and Facebook.


NEW SUCCESSES FOR BDS IN GERMANY

Despite the harsh climate for Palestinian rights advocates in Germany, two new judgements delivered on the 21st of April and the 26th of April in Stuttgart shows us, again, that litigation to defend our fundamental rights works.

Palästinakomitee Stuttgart was targeted by several unfounded smear campaigns because of their support to the Palestinian-led BDS movement. In two different episodes, the City of Stuttgart withdrew the Committee’s access to the City’s website to advertise their activities, and the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg Bank announced the termnation of their bank accounts. Both decisions where based on the German Parliament’s anti-BDS resolution (among other reasons).

The activists legally challenged those undemocratic decisions and the Courts gave them reason. The Administrative Court and the Regional Court of Stuttgart both held that the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution lacks any legal binding effect. The Administrative Court reaffirmed that the BDS movement does not incite hatred against the Jewish people, and that it must be protected from undue interference.

SHARE THIS VICTORY

These decisions are consistent with a growing trend in German case law, which upholds the legitimacy of BDS. Read our analysis. Ahmed Abed, the lawyer who defended the Stuttgart activists, is also challenging the German Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution with the Palestinian-Jewish-German team of activists BT3P.

SUPPORT THE CASE


A HIGHLY CONTESTABLE JUDGEMENT AGAINST BDS AUSTRIA

In a decision delivered on 6 April 2022, the Commercial Court of Vienna endorsed the City of Vienna’s lawsuit, ruling against the BDS activists.

TAKE ACTION

The Court’s decision is deeply problematic as it ignores the evidence submitted on behalf of the BDS activist, including legal opinions of renowned international and Israeli scholars. Furthermore, the Court ignored the existence of the Israeli system of apartheid towards Palestinians, a fact that is meticulously documented by organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’tselem and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

READ MORE

The BDS activist intends to appeal the decision and is ready, if necessary, to stand before the European Court of Human Rights to assert his fundamental right to freedom of expression.

DONATE


THE RIGHT TO BOYCOTT THREATENED IN THE UK

The UK government is proposing an “anti-boycott bill” that, if passed, could dramatically affect individual and organisations’ ability to campaign for social and climate justice in the UK and around the world. We are proud to be among the 40+ organisations opposing this bill.

READ MORE

Share the campaign’s statement on Twitter and Instagram.


BANNING EU TRADE WITH ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS: HELP US GET TO 1 MILLION SIGNATURES!

More than 170 organisations, including the ELSC, Human Rights Watch, Friends of the Earth, Avaaz and many others, joined the Stop Settlements Coalition calling to sign the European Citizens’ Initiative. We need 1 million signatures to push the EU to enact a ban on trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories, in line with its international law and EU trade obligations.

SIGN

Push people to sign in sharing the petition on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter.

READ MORE


WEBINARS ON THE WEAPONISATION OF THE FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM TO SILENCE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

Law For Palestine held a webinar on “The Anti-Semitism Label: Fighting Discrimination V. Silencing Critical Voices”. The webinar examined the IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism, which many states and institutions have endorsed as a tool to combat antisemitism. Our Director Giovanni Fassina joined Former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Professor Richard Falk and Professor of International Law Neve Gordon in the panel.

This month, the ELSC also participated to the webinar “Enforcing Silence: the Criticism of Israel, freedom of expression and anti-Semitism label”, organised by the Community Action Center – Al-Quds University. The event presented the definitions of anti-Semitism, notably among EU countries, limitations on the academic freedom of opinion, journalists’ freedom of expression, and the persecution of critics of the ongoing Israeli policies and practices against the Palestinian people.


COMING EVENTS

The ELSC will participate to a webinar organized by BRISMES on “Teaching Palestine in the Present”, on the 4th May 2022, 16:00-18:00 (UK time). Join us and register below.

REGISTER

2 CALLS FOR APPLICATION FROM PALESTINE

The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) is looking for an experienced and driven Advocacy Expert who can strategically develop their understanding of, and relationships with, the institutions of the European Union and relevant bodies. The EU Advocacy Expert will support PNGO in amplifying the Palestinian narrative and the effectiveness of Palestinian advocacy efforts in the EU.

APPLY

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights opened its call for applications for its International Mobilization Course on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People  in Palestine from Sunday 24  July to Tuesday 2 August. A great opportunity for international advocates, researchers, activists, policy officers to gain a deeper understanding of a human rights based approach to international mobilisation for the rights of the Palestinian people.

If you would like to join the course, please fill the application form and send it, along with your CV, to leila@badil.org before 16 May 2022.


Follow us on TwitterFacebookInstagram, and LinkedIn.

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.

DONATE

Categories
Event

Webinar: Teaching Palestine in the Present

The ELSC Director Giovanni Fassina will join a great panel of scholars, researchers and representatives of NGOs at a webinar organised by The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) on “Teaching Palestine in the Present”.

Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Time: 16:00-18:00 (BST)

Location: Online via Zoom

Register here to attend

Régis Debray has spoken, in a famous paragraph, of the constant difficulty of being contemporary with our present. In Europe at least, we have yet to be sufficiently contemporary with our past.

(Perry Anderson, Antinomies of Antonio Gramsci, 1976, p. 78)

Who writes Palestinian history, in the present, and down to the present? How is it written and practiced, in and outside Europe, and what for? How has what the Italian revolutionary and intellectual Antonio Gramsci called the ‘war of position’ (an organizational and cultural struggle in the ‘fortresses’ of civil society) been fought from above and below in schools and universities? What are the stakes of the struggle? Who is involved? This panel addresses these questions by examining factors such as the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, transnational Palestinian solidarity, university politics, the firing of academics, publishing, education, academic freedom, pro-Israeli groups and individuals, state power, and Zionism. We will aim to open up a wide-ranging discussion of how the ‘integral politics’ of Palestinian history are playing out amid contested forms of hegemony in the present, while considering how those in Middle East Studies can best intervene.

Chair

Teodora Todorova (Teaching Fellow in Sociology, University of Warwick / Chair, BRISMES Committee on Outreach and Pedagogy)

Discussant

Yara Hawari (Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network)

Speakers

  • Mai Abu Moghli (Senior Researcher and a Co-Principle Investigator on an Education in Emergencies Programme at the Centre for Lebanese Studies)
  • Tamara Ben-Halim (Co-Director and Founder of MAKAN)
  • Nicola Pratt (Professor, International Politics of the Middle East, University of Warwick / BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom)
  • Giovanni Fassina (Programme Director, European Legal Support Centre – ELSC)
  • Martin Konečný (Director, European Middle East Project – EuMEP) 
  • John Chalcraft (Professor of Middle East History and Politics, London School of Economics / BRISMES Secretary / Director of BRISMES Campaigns). 
Categories
Event

Webinar “Enforcing Silence: the Criticism of Israel, freedom of expression and anti-Semitism label”

The ELSC will join a webinar organised by the Community Action Center – Al-Quds University to discuss the academic and journalistic freedom to criticise Israeli illegal policies.

Date and time

20th of April 2022 from 17.30-19.00 (GMT+3, Jerusalem time)

Join the event here: https://bit.ly/3Od7Ljk

The speakers

Ilan Pappé, renowned Israeli historian

Sai Englert, academic and activist

Giovanni Fassina, director of the European Legal Support Center

About the event

The panel will discuss the silence Israel enforces on academics and journalists speaking on Israel’s policies by labeling it anti-Semitic.

The event presents the definitions of anti-Semitism, notably among EU countries, limitations on the academic freedom of opinion, journalists’ freedom of expression, and the persecution of critics of the ongoing Israeli policies and practices against the Palestinian.

The Community Action Center – Al-Quds University is an association emanating from Al-Quds University and which aims to empower the Palestinian community in East Jerusalem. Read more here.


Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: March 2022

Dear friend,
This month was marked by Women’s Rights Day as well as the Israeli Apartheid Week, where many students and activists organised events and protests to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and raise awareness about the Israeli apartheid. This week was not free from censorship, especially on campus, as shown by an incident in The Netherlands. We also share updates from the European Citizens’ Initiative Campaign as well as news from Germany, Austria, and a vacancy to work with us in the UK!

A GREAT JOB OPPORTUNITY IN THE UK

We are seeking a Legal Officer to oversee our cases and projects emanating from the UK. If you want to join a young and dynamic team and you’re passionate about defending Palestinian rights advocacy and UK law, apply before 17 April 2022.

APPLY

The role will cover: a) overseeing casework and research on the repression of Palestinian rights advocates in the UK; b) providing legal advice to ELSC clients on their rights under UK domestic law and European human rights law; c) developing strategies and guides to defend those affected by restrictive policies; d) analysing relevant legislation and jurisprudence under UK and EU law; and e) organising and participating in workshops and advocacy events.

Share the vacancy on your social media: LinkedInTwitterFacebookInstagram.


MUNICIPALITY OF VIENNA V. BDS AUSTRIA

Two months after the hearing in Vienna, BDS Austria is still waiting for a ruling by the Court on the lawsuit filed by the Municipality of Vienna over a social media post of the famous “Visit Apartheid” poster. The anti-SLAPP task force Protect the Protest interviewed BDS Austria about the SLAPP they are facing. The group shared a strong message:

“continue doing the work, build networks, and seek international support”

READ MORE

BDS Austria stands strong and keeps protesting against Israeli apartheid and against the attempts to silence them. It is time now to reinforce the pressure. Email directly the Mayor of Vienna to ask him to end this lawsuit.

EMAIL the Vienna Mayor

DONATE


CENSORSHIP IN THE NETHERLANDS

While the case of the Freedom of Information (FOI-WOB) request by The Rights Forum – that triggered a harsh smear campaign against the leading Dutch NGO – is still pending, the ELSC supported a new case of censorship in Leiden University.

Students for Palestine, a group of activist students in The Hague, organised a panel discussion on apartheid in Leiden University with South African and Palestinian scholars. Only a few days before the date of the event planned for the beginning of the Israeli Apartheid Week, the University refused to host the event, alleging that the chair – the well-respected scholar in anthropology and law Dina Zbeidy – was “not neutral”.

After hundreds of academics and students protested this breach of academic freedom and raised concerns of anti-Palestinian racism, the University accepted to host the event on a different campus, but again, required to replace the chair. As the students refused to give in to the pressure, Leiden University cancelled again the event, which eventually took place in a cultural venue in The Hague. This incident caught the attention of BIJ1 MP Sylvana Simons who raised a question in Parliament.

Read more here and join the 1700 students and scholars who signed the letter to Leiden University.

SIGN the support letter

DONATE to help us win more cases


UPDATES FROM GERMANY

Following the dismissal of 7 journalists and the publication of an extremely biased investigation by the Deutsche Welle (DW), Palestinian-Jordanian Farah Maraqa took the German state broadcaster to court and had a first hearing.  Farah Maraqa, who the ELSC is supporting, is determined to pursue her legal battle against her unsubstantiated termination.

SUPPORT HER CASE

The DW has set a very dangerous precedent for the freedom of the press in Germany. The fact that the IHRA definition was used as a frame of the investigation shows, again, the very worrying chilling effect of the definition on freedom of expression and on accurate reporting on Israel-Palestine.

Nevertheless, legal battles are worth undertaking since, in the past years, we have observed a coherent and positive case law on anti-BDS policies in Germany. In 8 decisions, German courts have consistently upheld the right of activists to use public facilities for BDS-related events, thus reaffirming the legitimacy of BDS.

READ MORE

This reinforces the lawsuit of the Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) aiming to repeal the German Parliament’s anti-BDS resolution and end this tactic of repression targeting Palestinian rights advocates.

DONATE to support the BT3P lawsuit


TAKE ACTION TO BAN TRADE WITH THE SETTLEMENTS

More than 170 organisations, including the ELSC, Human Rights Watch, Friends of the Earth, Avaaz and many others, joined the Stop Settlements Coalition calling to sign the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) petition. We need 1 million signatures to push the EU to enact a ban on trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories, in line with its international law and EU trade obligations.

SIGN

Read more about the ECI


CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY AND APARTHEID

In a joint letter with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, we asked key EU institutions and Member States to uphold international law at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council. We asked, in particular, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to condemn Israel’s apartheid and to call on Israel to revoke the unsubstantiated designation of the 6 prominent Palestinian CSOs.

At the occasion of the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the OPT Michael Lynk also published its report. It concludes that Israel has been imposing an apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and acknowledges the settler-colonial nature of Israel’s occupation and apartheid.

READ MORE

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Follow us on TwitterFacebookInstagram, and LinkedIn.

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.

DONATE

Categories
Release

Letter in Support of Dr. Anna Younes

The ELSC published a letter signed by over 500 scholars, artists, activists, organisations and human rights defenders to support Dr. Anna Younes and other scholars, activists and journalists against censorship and unlawful surveillance in Germany.

Sign the support letter

Read more about the case of Dr. Younes and her lawsuits and watch the video

Support scholars, activists and journalists against censorship and unlawful surveillance

We the undersigned scholars, artists, activists and organizations, stand in solidarity with Dr. Anna-Esther Younes, a German-Palestinian critical race and post-colonial scholar, who has already faced several misinformation media campaigns in Germany due to her academic and policy related work on anti-Jewish racism and Palestinian rights. In November 2019, a secret file about her was leaked to her, which had already led to professional exclusions based on unlawful secret data collection and surveillance research by state-funded civil society organizations that purport to investigate anti-Semitism in German society. As signatories we support her struggle against all forms of racism, including anti-Muslim racism and anti-Jewish racism, everywhere. We condemn repression in Germany that targets Critical Race theorists, advocates of Palestinian human rights, and supporters of BDS. We therefore endorse Dr. Younes’s campaign for data protection and the release of secret files on her and potential other decolonial and anti-racist scholars and activists.

We are alarmed by recent efforts to exclude Dr. Anna-Esther Younes from academia and from the public debate in Germany. In November 2019, the Berlin Department for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) prepared a secret file that patches together distorted selections of Dr. Younes’s writings to defame her distorting her scholarly work as allegedly supporting Islamism, Sexism, and by extension anti-Semitism. This file appears to have been circulated to politicians and event organizers in order to exclude her from a public debate on racism and right-wing extremism in Germany. Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East (JVP), Germany, has unequivocally defended Dr. Younes’s scholarship and condemned allegations on the “basis of decontextualized information, hearsay, and guilt by association.” JVP has reminded us that: “We need more, not less, critical analyses that shed light on the phenomenon of Islamophobia and its connection to antisemitism, as do those of Younes.” The purpose and method of information collection and sharing by RIAS did not respect Dr. Younes’s fundamental right to privacy and resembles State surveillance through a state-funded civil society organization.

We, the undersigned, believe that surveillance and secretly circulating defamatory documentation has no place in a democratic society. Attempts to silence critical and particularly minority voices in Germany have a common denominator: anti-Palestinian racism cloaked in anti-BDS positions. The German Parliament made such discrimination state doctrine when it adopted an anti-BDS resolution in 2019.

Dr. Younes’s RIAS file also features a public letter addressed to the German parliament and government signed by her and other international scholars. That letter is supposedly proof of her anti-Semitism. In anticipation of the proliferation of such fraudulent charges, hundreds of German, international,  Jewish and Israeli scholars, among them world authorities on anti-Jewish racism and the history of the Holocaust, had earlier condemned the German Parliament’s anti-BDS declaration as an “unreasonable, disproportionate and unlawful limitation of the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly of human rights defenders.” They have pledged not to serve on juries or prize committees or in academic hiring consultations in Germany whenever there are “convincing indicators that their decisions may be subject to ideological or political interference or litmus tests.” Last year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has rejected the criminalization of boycotts directed against Israel in support of Palestinian rights and affirmed BDS as a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression.

Based on the above, and irrespective of our diverse positions on supporting BDS, we demand RIAS release all documentation it has assembled on Dr. Younes and potential other decolonial and anti-racist scholars and activists. We, the signatories, also urge German institutions to rein in anti-Palestinian racism. There must be no Palestine exception to academic freedom and freedom of expression. 

SIGN the support letter

DONATE to help with the legal fees

The first signatories:

  1. European Legal Support Center (ELSC), The Netherlands
  2. Room 4 Resistance, queer DJs and nightlife activists collective, Germany
  3. Ronnie Kasrils, Former South African Government Minister and Author, South Africa
  4. The Jewish Antifascist Bund, Berlin, Germany
  5. Prof. Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley, USA
  6. Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P), Germany
  7. Palästina Spricht / Palestine Speaks, Germany
  8. Dirk Moses, Frank Porter Graham Distinguished Professor of Global Human Rights History, Department of History, University of North Carolina, USA
  9. Prof. Ella Shohat, Author, USA
  10. Dr. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies, Columbia University; Co-Editor, Journal of Palestine Studies, USA
  11. Prof. Amos Goldberg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
  12. Ken Loach, Film Director, UK
  13. Achille Mbembe, Research Professor in History and Politics University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa
  14. Prof. Noam Chomsky, University of Arizona, USA
  15. Omar Barghouti, human rights defender, Palestine
  16. Houria Bouteldja, decolonial activist, France
  17. Professor Alana Lentin, Western Sydney University, Australia
  18. Dr. Yassir Morsi, Writer and Academic, Australia
  19. Françoise Vergès, Antiracist Decolonial Feminist, Writer, France
  20. Prof. Emeritus Dr. Fanny-Michaela Reisin, former president of the International League for Human Rights – FIDH Germany, Germany 
  21. Aviad Albert, PhD candidate, University of Cologne, Germany
  22. Prof. Emeritus John Dugard, Universities of Leiden and the Witwatersrand, The Netherlands and South Africa
  23. Dr. Fatima El-Tayeb, Professor of Ethnicity, Race & Migration, Yale University, USA
  24. Nacira Guénif, Sociologist and Anthropologist Professor, University of Paris 8, France
  25. Prof. Emeritus Avner Ben-Amos, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
  26. Dr. Sami Khatib, Interim Professor, Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Karlsruhe, Germany
  27. Dr. Hilla Dayan, Lecturer, Amsterdam University College, The Netherlands and co-founder Academic for Equality, Israel
  28. Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Sociologist, University of Coimbra, Portugal
  29. Prof. Roy Wagner, GESS department, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  30. Prof. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Hebrew university (rtd) and David Yellin Academic College Laureate of the EU Parliament Sakharov award for human rights and the freedom of thought, Israel
  31. Dr. Ofer Shinar Levanon, Hebrew University and Ruppin Academic College, Israel
  32. Dr. Itamar Shachar, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, Ghent University, Belgium
  33. Prof. James Dickins, University of Leeds, UK
  34. Dr. Robert Boyce, Emeritus Reader, London School of Economics, UK
  35. E. Natalie Rothman, Associate Professor of History, University of Toronto, Canada
  36. Ronit Lentin, Associate Professor, Sociology (retired), Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
  37. Prof. Hagit Borer, FBA, FLSA, Department of Linguistics, SLLF, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
  38. Prof. Haim Bresheeth, Professorial Research Associate, SOAS, University of London, UK
  39. Dr. Shir Hever, Manager of BIP e.V., Germany
  40. Dr. Samir Abed-Rabbo, Professor of Political Science, Mansfield, USA
  41. Prof. em. Dr. Norman Paech, University of Hamburg, Germany
  42. Paul Mendes-Flohr, Professor Emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
  43. Thomas Perroud, Professor of Public Law, Pantheon-Assas University, France
  44. Mark LeVine, Professor of History, Chair, Program in Global Middle East Studies, UC Irvine, USA
  45. Paul Aarts, Dept. of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  46. 7amleh, Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, Palestine
  47. British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP), UK
  48. Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East), Germany
  49. UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, UK
  50. AURDIP (Association des Universitaires pour le respect du droit international en Palestine), France
  51. Another Jewish Voice, Belgium
  52. Independent Jewish Voices Canada
  53. Comité Pour Une Paix Juste Au Proche-Orient, Luxembourg 
  54. Norwich Palestine Solidarity Campaign, UK
  55. The Rights Forum, The Netherlands
  56. Jewish Network for Palestine, UK
  57. Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ireland
  58. Academics for Palestine, Ireland
  59. Dutch Higher Education in Solidarity with Palestine, The Netherlands
  60. Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies, Australia
  61. California Scholars for Academic Freedom, USA 
  62. Jewish Voice for Peace, Milwaukee Chapter, USA
  63. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions – Germany, Germany
  64. Aydoun Holland, The Netherlands
  65. Finnish-Arab Friendship Society, Finland
  66. North Herts Palestine Solidarity Campaign, UK
  67. BACBI, Belgian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Belgium
  68. International Fellowship of Reconciliation-France, France
  69. Free Palestine Maastricht, The Netherlands
  70. Institut für Palästinakunde (reg. assoc.) – Institute for the Study of Palestine (reg. assoc.), Germany
  71. BDS Berlin, Germany
  72. Bündnis gegen Rassismus Berlin, Germany
  73. Die LINKE Berlin LAG Internationals, Germany
  74. Dance with Pride, Germany and The Netherlands
  75. Antifascist Music Alliance, Germany and The Netherlands
  76. Decolonial International Network, The Netherlands
  77. Diensten en Onderzoek Centrum Palestina (docP), The Netherlands
  78. Europeans Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP), UK
  79. Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JFJFP), UK
  80. Een Ander Joods Geluid (EAJG), The Netherlands
  81. British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES), UK
  82. Artists for Palestine, UK
  83. Palestine Legal, USA
  84. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), France
  85. Comité pour le respect des libertés et des droits de l’homme en Tunisie (CRLDHT), France
  86. Fédération des tunisiens citoyens des deux rives (FTCR), France
  87. Palestina Solidariteit, Belgium
  88. Palästinensischen Studenten Verein Berlin – Brandenburg PSV e.V., Germany
  89. Collectif Judéo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine (CJACP), France
  90. CAGE, UK
  91. Coalition of Anti-Racist Educators (CARE), No More Exclusions, UK
  92. Women in Black (Vienna), Austria
  93. Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine, France
  94. UCL Students for Justice in Palestine, UK
  95. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
  96. Border Violence Monitoring Network
  97. Islamic Human Rights Commission, UK
  98. Africa 4 Palestine, South Africa
  99. Na’eem Jeenah, Executive Director, Afro-Middle East Centre, South Africa
  100. Dr. Leena Dallasheh, Associate Professor of History, Humboldt State University, USA
  101. Dr. Maria Elena Indelicato, CEEC Individual FCT Researcher, University of Coimbra, Centre for Social Studies, Portugal
  102. Livnat Konopny Decleve, PhD candidate, Tel Aviv University, Israel
  103. Bob Brecher, Professor Emeritus of Moral Philosophy, University of Brighton, UK
  104. Richard Seaford, Emeritus Professor of Ancient Greek, University of Exeter, UK
  105. Prof. Greg Philo (emeritus), Glasgow University, UK
  106. Dr. Derek Summerfield, Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College, University of London, UK
  107. Herman De Ley, Emeritus Professor, Ghent University, Belgian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (BACBI), member of the Coordination Committee, Belgium
  108. Dr. Sai Englert, Lecturer, Leiden University, The Netherlands
  109. Prof. Yonathan (jon) Anson, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (retired), Israel
  110. Lucia Admiraal, Assistant Professor Middle Eastern Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
  111. Dr. Lana Sirri, Project manager BIWOC Rising, Germany
  112. Prof. Joseph Levine, Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
  113. Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University*, USA. (*For purposes of identification only. The position taken here should not be attributed to the University)
  114. Prof.dr.em Annelies Moors, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  115.  Professor Emerita, Lisa Rofel, University of California, Santa Cruz, National Board, Member, Jewish Voice for Peace, USA
  116. Prof. Susan Rose-Ackerman, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence, Law and Political Science, Emeritur, Yale University, USA
  117. Dr. Lila Abu-Lughod, Professor at Columbia University, USA
  118. Ghislain Poissonnier, French magistrate, France
  119. Prof. Paola Bacchetta, University of California, Berkeley, Turtle Island, USA
  120. Prof. Rebecca Ruth Gould, Professor, Islamic World & Comparative Literature, University of Birmingham, UK
  121. Dr. Noa Roei, Assistant Professor, Department of Literary and Cultural Analysis, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  122. Dr. Jeff Handmaker, Associate Professor in Legal Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  123. Ms Sarah Sheriff, Lecturer, Adult & Community Education, London, UK
  124. Dr. Jens Hanssen, Assoc. Prof., Arab Civilization, Mediterranean Studies and Middle Eastern History, University of Toronto, Canada
  125. Dr. Jess Bier, Assistant professor of urban sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  126. Dr. Lieke Smits, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Antwerp, Belgium
  127. Dr. Lisa Stampnitzky, Lecturer in Politics, University of Sheffield, UK
  128. Dr. David Kattenburg, University science instructor & journalist, Breda, The Netherlands
  129. Dr. Nicola Perugini, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Edinburgh, UK
  130. Irene van Oorschot, PhD, Postdoctoral researcher, The Netherlands
  131. Prof. Neve Gordon, International Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, UK
  132. Dr. Brooke Maddux, France Palestine Mental Health Network, doctoral scholar in Philosophy, Université de Reims, France
  133. Dr. Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  134. Dr. Tamar Berger, Bezalel academy of art and design, Jerusalem, Israel
  135. Prof. Esther Peeren, Professor of Cultural Analysis & Academic Director, Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  136. Alon Confino, Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Director, Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
  137. Dr. Tammy Razi, Sapir College, Israel
  138. Dr. Lori A. Allen, Reader in Anthropology, Department of Anthropology & Sociology, SOAS, University of London, UK
  139. Prof. Laleh Khalili, School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London, UK
  140. Prof. Goldie Osuri, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK
  141. Assoz. Prof. Dr. Birgit Englert, University of Vienna, Austria
  142. Shmuel Groag, Senior lecturer, Bezalel academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
  143. Dr. Anat Matar, The Department of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Israel and co-founder, Academia for Equality, Israel
  144. Prof. Carole H Browner, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), USA
  145. Nahla Abdo, Professor (Sociology and Anthropology), Carleton University, Canada
  146. PhD fellow, Udi Raz, Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, Germany
  147. Dr. Anne de Jong, Associate Professor Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  148. Ismail Poonawala, Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies, UCLA, USA
  149. Dr. Eloe Kingma, Managing Director Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, The Netherlands
  150. Professor Emeritus, Raymond Bush, African Studies and Development Politics, POLIS, University of Leeds, UK
  151. Dr. Michiel Bot, Assistant Professor, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
  152. Christian Henderson, PhD Assistant Professor, Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), Leiden University, The Netherlands
  153. Prof. Salman Sayyid, Professor of Social Theory & Decolonial Thought, University of Leeds, UK
  154. Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Sociologist, University of Coimbra, Portugal
  155. Dr. Hatem Bazian, University of California, Berkeley, USA
  156. Dr.Melanie Richter-Montpetit, Senior Lecturer in International Security and Director of the Centre for Advanced International Theory, University of Sussex, UK
  157. Mudar Kassis, Birzeit University, Palestine
  158. Prof. Riccardo Bocco, The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland
  159. Dr. Kobi Kabalek, Penn State University, USA
  160. Prof. Dr. Henning Melber, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  161. Prof. Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
  162. Dr. Paniz Musawi Natanzi, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, SOAS, University of London, UK
  163. Prof. Dr. emeritus Moshe Zuckermann, Tel Aviv University, Israel
  164. Miss Akudo McGee, PhD Researcher, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
  165. Law Professor Xavier Dupré de Boulois, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
  166. Dr. Rasha Soliman, Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Linguistics, University of Leeds, UK
  167. Dr. Inna Michaeli, Sociologist, Germany
  168. Prof. em. dr. Marc David Dep. Wiskunde, Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium
  169. Prof. Eva Brems, Head of the Human Rights Centre, Ghent University, Belgium
  170. Prof. Kanishka Goonewardena, University of Toronto, Canada
  171. Dr. Nozomi Takahashi, Ghent University, Belgium
  172. Prof. Dr. Reinhart Kößler, Germany
  173. Dr. Maya Mikdashi, Assistant Professor, Rutgers University, USA
  174. Dr. Jacques Englebert, Lawyer and Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
  175. Associate Professor (retired) Robert Kirchner, University of Alberta Linguistics Dept (retired), Independent Jewish Voices Canada, steering committee, Temple Beth Ora Reform Jewish synagogue, board member, Canada
  176. Gordon Doctorow, Ed.D. (adjunct faculty member, Nova Southeastern University—identification purposes only), Canada
  177. Prof. em. Vincent Wertz, Ecole Polytechnique de Louvain, Belgium
  178. Dr. Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, Director and Senior Scholar, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies San Francisco State University, USA
  179. Prof. Geert van Loo, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation research Gent, Belgium
  180. Prof. Farid Esack, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
  181. Prof. Dr. Gilbert Achcar, SOAS, University of London, UK
  182. Jessica Elias, Tutor in Politics and Culture of the Middle East, Leiden University, The Netherlands
  183. Dr. Helmut Krieger, University of Vienna, Austria
  184. Marc Mormont, Professor, University of Liege, Belgium
  185. Dr. Leander Meuris, Staff scientist, VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, Belgium
  186. Dr. Beatriz de Abreu Fialho Gomes, retired Senior Lecturer, University of Vienna, Austria
  187. Stef Craps, Professor of English Literature, Ghent University, Belgium
  188. Prof. em. Dr. Wolf Linder University of Bern, Switzerland
  189. Dr. Hanan Toukan, Bard College Berlin, Germany
  190. Norma Rantisi Professor, Dept. of Geography, Planning & Environment, Concordia University, Canada
  191.  Marjolein De Pau, PhD Candidate at Ghent University, Belgium
  192. Dr. Dror Warschawski, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
  193. Layal Ftouni, Assistant Professor of Gender Studies and Critical Theory Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  194. PhD researcher Brigitte Herremans, Law Faculty, Ghent University, Belgium
  195. Dr. Anya Topolski, Associate Professor in Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, The Netherlands
  196. Eric Shragge, Associate Professor (retired) School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University, Montreal Quebec, Canada
  197. Dr. Terri Ginsberg, Assistant Professor of Cinema, Concordia University, Canada
  198. Dr. Ardi Imseis, Assistant Professor of Law Academic Director, International Law Programs Faculty of Law Queen’s University, UK
  199. Mark Ayyash, Associate Professor of Sociology, Mount Royal University, Canada
  200. John King, Associate Adjunct Professor, New York University, USA
  201. Denis Kosseim Philosophy Department CEGEP André-Laurendeau Montréal, Canada
  202. Dr. Todd May, Philosopher, USA
  203. Randa Farah, Associate Professor University of Western Ontario, Canada
  204. Dr. Alexis Merlaud, Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Belgium
  205. Michael Rothberg, Professor of Comparative Literature, English, and Holocaust Studies, UCLA, USA
  206. Prof. Mark Lance, Department of philosophy, program on justice and peace Georgetown University, USA
  207. Dr. Les Levidow Senior Research Fellow Open University, UK
  208. Dr. Imad Mustafa, University Erfurt, Germany
  209. Dr. Chiara De Cesari, Associate Professor, European and Cultural Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  210. Dr. Susan Blackwell Lecturer, Dept of Languages, Literature and Communication, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
  211. Dr. Kathrin Thiele, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  212. Prof. Nitzan Shoshan, Centro de Estudios Sociológicos, El Colegio de México, Mexico
  213. Prof. Mandy Turner Professor of Conflict and Peace Studies, University of Manchester, UK
  214. Prof. Dr. Yolande Jansen Socrates Professor for Humanism in Relation to Religion and Secularity at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the Free University Amsterdam, and Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  215. Postdoctoral Research Associate, Peyman Jafari, Princeton University, USA
  216. Dr. Giovanni Picker, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Glasgow, UK
  217. Prof. Adam Hanieh Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies University of Exeter, UK
  218. Dr. Bashir Abu-Manneh Head of English University of Kent, UK
  219. PhD(c) Nadia Silhi Chahin Researcher, University of Edinburgh, UK
  220. Prof. Nicola Pratt, Professor of the International Politics of the Middle East University of Warwick, UK
  221. Daniel A. Segal, Jean M. Pitzer Professor of Anthropology & Professor of History, Pitzer College, Claremont, USA
  222. Dr. Martijn de Koning, Associate Professor Islam Studies Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  223. Mauricio Amar, Professor at the Eugenio Chahuan Center for Arab Studies, University of Chile, Chile
  224. PhD Lina Meruane, Writer and Associate Clinical Professor at New York University, Chile/USA
  225. Omar Jabary Salamanca, FNRS Research Fellow, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
  226. Mr. Barry Finnegan, Senior Lecturer & Programme Director at the Faculty of Journalism & Media Communications, Griffith College, Ireland
  227. Suad Joseph Distinguished Research Professor University of California Davis, USA
  228. Professor Karen Till, Maynooth University, Ireland
  229. Prof. dr. Sarah Bracke, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  230. Ivan Huber, PhD Prof Emeritus of Biology Fairleigh Dickinson University Madison, NJ, USA
  231. Dr. Nick Riemer, Senior Lecturer, English and Linguistics departments, University of Sydney, Australia
  232. Professor Victor Wallis, Berklee College of Music, USA
  233. William I. Robinson, Distinguished Professor, University of California-Santa Barbara, USA
  234. Sherene Seikaly, Associate Professor, Department of History, Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of California, Santa BarbaraAuthor, Co-Editor, Journal of Palestine Studies, Co-Editor, Jadaliyya, USA
  235. Dr. Robert Austin Henry, Honorary Associate, Dept. of History University of Sydney, Australia
  236. Viviana Ramírez, BA (Hons), Dip. Ed. Senior Teacher of Spanish & Home Economics (retired) NSW & Queensland Depts. of Education (1980-2016), Australia
  237. David Mond, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, University of Warwick, UK
  238. (Dr) Michael Leonard Furtado, BA(Hons), CertEd(Lond), GradDipRE(ECU), DipSoc(Oxon), MA(WA), PhD(QLD), CertFour (Disability Studies)
  239. Professor Dr. Aziz Al-Azmeh, Central European University Vienna, Austria
  240. David Klein, Professor of Mathematics California State University Northridge, USA
  241. Dr. Sharae Deckard, Associate Professor in World Literature University College Dublin, Ireland
  242. Ximena de la Barra Mac Donald, Independent scholar UN retiree, Spain
  243. Dr. Larry Haiven, Professor Emeritus, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  244. Howard Winant, Distinguished Professor Emeritus Department of Sociology University of California Santa Barbara, USA
  245. Frances M. Clarke, Associate Professor Frances M Clarke Department of History, University of Sydney, Australia
  246. David Palumbo-Liu, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor, Stanford University, USA
  247. Prof. Gerry Kearns, Professor of Geography Maynooth University, Ireland
  248. David Barkin, Profesor Distinguido, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana – Unidad Xochimilco, Mexico
  249. Sophia Hoffinger, PhD Researcher University of Edinburgh, UK
  250. Dr. Sheryl Nestel, Lecturer in Sociology (retired), University of Toronto, Canada
  251. Assistant Professor Jillian Rogin, University of Windsor, Windsor ON, Canada
  252. Dr. Erella Grassiani University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  253. Margaret Ferguson, Distinguished Professor of English Emerita University of California, Davis, USA
  254. Deborah Cowen, Professor, University of Toronto, Canada
  255. Dr. Lamia Moghnieh, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  256. Dr. Pepijn Brandon, Assistant Professor Global Economic and Social History Vrije Universiteit, The Netherlands
  257. Julio Yao, Professor of International Law, International Analyst, Panama
  258. Shahla Razavi, Associate Professor, Mathematics (Retired) Mt. San Jacinto Community College California, USA
  259. Prof. Rami Salameh, Birzeit University, Palestine
  260. Lisa Baraitser, Professor of Psychosocial Theory, Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
  261. Dr. Sarah El Bulbeisi, Researcher, Lebanon
  262. Leah Galant, Fulbright Scholar, USA
  263. Professor Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
  264. Professor Ruba Salih, SOAS, University of London, UK
  265. Prof.  Yosefa Loshitzky, SOAS, University of London, UK
  266. Professor emeritus Moshé Machover, Department of Philosophy, King’s College, London UK
  267. Prof. Daniel Boyarin Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture, UC Berkeley (emeritus) and Grus Visiting Professor of Jewish Law, Harvard Law School (2021-2022), USA
  268. Mike Cushman, Research Fellow LSE (rtd), UK
  269. Dr. Lila Sharif, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies. The University of Illinois, USA
  270. Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead, Emeritus Professor of Operational Research, London School of Economics, UK
  271. Esther Romeyn, Senior Lecturer, Center for European Studies, University of Florida, USA
  272. Prof. Candice Breitz, HBK Braunschweig, Germany
  273. Dr. Alyosxa Tudor, Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London, UK
  274. Prof. Yael Politi, B CUBE – Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
  275. Michael Harris, Professor of Mathematics, Columbia University, USA
  276. Prof. Dina Matar, SOAS, University of London, UK
  277. Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Kempf, University of Konstanz Department of Psychology, Germany
  278. Professor Ilan Pappe, Historian, University of Exeter, UK
  279. Professor Jodi Melamed, Marquette University, USA
  280. Dr. Alborz Ghandehari, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies University of Utah, USA
  281. Karma R. Chávez, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, The University of Texas, USA
  282. Eithne Luibhéid, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies University of Arizona, USA
  283. Professor (of American Studies and Anthropology) J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Ph.D. Wesleyan University, USA
  284. Dr. Jacqueline Ismael, Professor Emerita, University of Calgary, Canada
  285. Max Weiss, Associate Professor of History and Near Eastern Studies Princeton University, USA
  286. Prof. Caroline Rooney, University of Kent, UK
  287. Anne Meneley, Professor of Anthropology Trent University, Canada
  288. Bárbara Azaola Piazza, Researcher, GRESAM, Spain
  289. Professor James A. Reilly, Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto, Canada
  290. Dr. Mazen Masri, Senior Lecturer in Law, City University of London, UK
  291. Michael Taussig, Class of 1933 professor Emeritus of the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, USA
  292. Dr. Angelo Stefanini, Retired Faculty, University of Bologna, Italy
  293. Walid Kazziha, Professor of Political Science, American University in Cairo, Egypt
  294. Anthony Alessandrini, Professor of English & Middle Eastern Studies City University of New York, USA
  295. Prof. Janet C.E. Watson, FBA Co-director of Centre for Endangered Languages, Cultures and Ecosystems University of Leeds, UK
  296. Prof. Laura Guazzone, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy
  297. Susan Slyomovics, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Near Eastern Languages & Cultures University of California Los Angeles, USA
  298. Nada Moumtaz, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Canada
  299. Dr. Farid Hafez, Researcher, Georgetown University, The Bridge Initiative, USA
  300. Dr. Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, Assistant Professor American University of Beirut, Lebanon
  301. Leila Pourtavaf, Assistant Professor of Global Public History Department of History York University, Canada
  302. Charles E. Butterworth, Emeritus Professor Department of Government & Politics University of Maryland College Park, MD USA
  303. Catherine Cobham, Lecturer, Department of Arabic and Persian, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
  304. Stephen Marmura PhD (he/him) Associate Professor Department of Sociology, St. Francis Xavier University, Canada
  305. Dr. Paul Kelemen retired academic (formerly of Manchester University UK)
  306. Leonardo Capezzone Associate Professor Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  307. Francesco Zappa Associate Professor, Islamic Studies Sapienza University, Italy
  308. Dr. James Deutsch Faculty, Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada
  309. Dr. Raz Segal, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Stockton University, USA
  310. Dr. Elaine C. Hagopian, Professor Emerita of Sociology Simmons University (Boston), USA
  311. Dr. Ruth Marshall Associate Professor Departments of Political Science, Study of Religion University of Toronto, Canada
  312. Michael Lambek, FRSC. Professor, University of Toronto Canada
  313. Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies Keough School of Global Affairs, The University of Notre Dame, USA
  314. Cynthia Franklin, Professor of English, University of Hawai’i, USA
  315. Dr. Claudia Prestel, Professor emerita, Germany
  316. Yasser Munif Associate Professor/ Emerson College, USA
  317. Elsa Wiehe, ED. D. Boston University African Studies Center K-16 Education Program Manager Boston, Ma, USA
  318. Dr. Bram Wispelwey, Instructor, Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA
  319. Nigel C. Gibson Professor, Marlboro Institute of Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies. Emerson College Boston, USA
  320. Jason A. Springs, Professor of Religion, Ethics, and Peace Studies University of Notre Dame, USA
  321. Dr. Ada Barbaro, Senior lecturer in Arabic Language and Literature Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  322. Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Director, Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability Bethlehem University, Palestine
  323. Mohammad Fadel, Professor of Law, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Canada
  324. Prof. Jawed Siddiqi, Emeritus Professor Sheffield Hallam University, UK
  325. Lora Wildenthal, John Antony Weir Professor of History, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
  326. Najat Rahman, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Montreal, Canada
  327. Dr. Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar Center for Middle Eastern Studies Harvard University, USA
  328. Lawrence Davidson, Professor Emeritus of History, West Chester University, USA
  329. Tareq Y. Ismael, Professor of Political Science and Co-editor of Journal of Contemporary Iraq & the Arab World, University of Calgary, Canada
  330. Prof. Michelle Hartman, McGill University, Québec, Canada
  331. Jane Mchan, retired professor, USA
  332. Vincent Romani, Professor, Department of Political science, UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal), Canada
  333. Prof. Ferhat Kentel, “We Shall Live Together” – Foundation of Education and Social Researches (BAYETAV), General Coordinator, Turkey
  334. Ivar Ekeland, Professor emeritus, former President, the University of Paris-Dauphine Member of the Academia Europea, foreign member of the Academies of Norway and Austria
  335. Ira Dworkin, Associate Professor Texas A&M University, USA
  336. Dr. Ellen Fleischmann, Professor Emerita, University of Dayton, USA
  337. Prof. Nakayike Musisi, History Department, University of Toronto, Canada
  338. Prof. Dr. Karin Kulow Near and Middle East Scientist, Germany
  339. Dr. Hana Masri Fellow Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), USA
  340. Prof. em. Dr. Georg Meggle Analytical Philosopher, Philosophy Department, University Leipzig, Germany
  341. Dr. Hab. Nora Lafi, Historian, Germany
  342. Dr. Sigrid Vertommen, postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Conflict and Development Studies, Ghent University, Belgium
  343. Kate Korycki, Phd Assistant Professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Western University, London Ontario, Canada
  344. Amber Jamilla Musser, Professor of English, CUNY/ The Graduate Center, USA
  345. Dr. Katherine Blouin, Associate Professor of History and Classics, University of Toronto, Canada
  346. Prof. John Chalcraft, London School of Economics, UK
  347. Prof. Tim Jacoby, Global Development Institute, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute Treasurer, British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, UK
  348. James Godfrey, PhD Researcher, UK
  349. Paul Allies, Professeur Emérite, Université Montpellier, France
  350. Dr. Rinella Cere, College of Social Sciences and Art, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
  351. Michael Allan, Associate Professor, University of Oregon, USA
  352. Prof., Dr. iur., Dr. h.c., Stefan Trechsel, Former President, European Commission of Human Rights, former Judge of the ICTY, Switzerland
  353. Dr. Peter E Jones, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
  354. Prof. Gadi Algazi Tel Aviv University, Department of History & Minerva Institute for German History, Director, Israel
  355. Dr. Jana Cattien, Assistant Professor in Political and Social Philosophy, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  356. Dr. Markha Valenta Assistant Professor, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  357. Dr. Grietje Baars, Reader in Law and Social Change, The City Law School, City, University of London, UK
  358. Dr. Leandros Fischer, Assistant Professor for International Studies, Aalborg University, Denmark/Germany
  359. Dr. Sharri Plonski, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Queen Mary University of London, UK
  360. Marco Balboni, Professor, University of Bologna, Italy
  361. Dr. Philippe Enclos, Associate professor in law, retired, University of Lille, France
  362. Fabio Marcelli, Research Director of the Institute of International Legal Studies of the National Research Council, Italy
  363. Dr. Max Haiven, Canada Research Chair in the Radical Imagination, Lakehead University, Canada
  364. Dr. Kylie Thomas Researcher, Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  365. Hazem Jamjoum, Doctoral Candidate, New York University, UK
  366. Prof. Emerita Marie Kennedy, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
  367. Dr. Zvi Bekerman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
  368. Dr. Grietje Baars, Reader in Law and Social Change, The City Law School, City, University of London, UK
  369. Rush Rehm, Professor, Theater and Performance Studies, and Classics, Stanford University, Artistic Director, Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT), USA
  370. Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of Anthropology & Middle East Studies, Brown University, USA
  371. Prof. Emerita Joan W. Scott, Institute for Advanced Study, USA
  372. Prof. Louise Bethlehem, Associate Professor, Department of English & Chair of Program in Cultural Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  373. Dr. Chris Tilly, Professor of Urban Planning, University of California Los Angeles (organization for identification purposes only), USA
  374. Howard Rechavia-Taylor, PhD Candidate at Columbia University in the City of New York, Berlin, Germany
  375. Dr. (EdD), Gordon Doctorow, Retired (Adjunct Nova Southeastern University), Canada
  376. Dr. Mikki Stelder, Marie Sklowdowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, The Netherlands
  377. Prof. Pablo Idahosa, York University, Canada
  378. Prof. Dr. Matthias Haase, Department of Philosophy, University of Chicago, USA
  379. Dr. Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Music, University of Birmingham, UK
  380. Dr. Kirsten L. Scheid, Associate Professor, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
  381. Prof. Dr. Helga Baumgarten (retired professor at Birzeit University, Palestine), Germany
  382. Andrea Reyes Elizondo, Researcher and PhD candidate, Leiden University, The Netherlands/Mexico
  383.  George Bisharat, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, USA
  384. Dominique Vidal, journalist and historian, France
  385. Alain Gresh, journalist, France
  386. Marlène Tuininga, Activist journalist, France
  387. Pary El-Qalqili, Filmmaker, Germany
  388. Jan Ralske, Filmmaker, Germany
  389. Canan Turan, Film Scholar, Filmmaker and Activist
  390. Lili Sommerfeld, Musician and Activist, Germany
  391. Monika Vykoukal, Accountant, Vienna, Austria
  392. Teresa Bailey, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, UK
  393. Noor Blaas, Research Master’s student in Cultural Anthropology University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
  394. Dr. Martin Kemp, Psychoanalyst, UK
  395. Ms Eliana Pinto, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, UK
  396. Annette Feld, Practising Analyst, New Lacanian School, World Association of Psychoanalysis, Israel
  397. Helen Marks, member of Jewish Voice for Labour and Liverpool Friends of Palestine, retired Psychotherapist, UK 
  398. Ruth Orli Moshkovitz, activist, mother and project manager, Vienna, Austria
  399. Fenya Fischler, Another Jewish Voice, Belgium
  400. Dipl.-Psych., Psychoanalyst, Michal Kaiser-Livne, Germany
  401. Iris Hefets, psychoanalyst, Germany
  402. Wieland Hoban, composer and translator, chairman of Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Germany
  403. Raphael Van Laere, Former President of the Académie Royale d’Archéologie de Belgique, Belgium
  404. Suzanne Berliner Weiss, Author and social justice activist, Canada
  405. Kamal Aranki, Finnish Arab Friendship Society, Finland
  406. Sid Shniad, Founding member, Independent Jewish Voices, Canada
  407. Jay Murphy, writer & author, New Orleans, USA
  408. Elizabeth Block, Member of Independent Jewish Voices Canada, Canada
  409. Dr.  Egbert Harmsen, Board member of docP-BDS Netherlands, The Netherlands
  410. Ms Erica Lang, Secretary, North Herts Palestine Solidarity Campaign, UK
  411. Laura Prevedello, Assopace Palestina Italia, Italy
  412. Bruce H. Lofquist M.A. Human Rights Advocate, Canada
  413. Peter Leuenberger, Historian, Switzerland
  414. Rachida Lamrabet, Writer and legal practitioner, Belgium
  415. Charlotte Kates, international coordinator, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Canada
  416. Sam Bahour, Writer, businessperson, activist, Palestine
  417. Michael Letwin, Former President, Assn. of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW 2325 and Member of Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, Labor for Palestine, USA
  418. Kathy Bergen, Board member of Canadian Friends of Sabeel and Coordinator of MCEC PIN (Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada Palestine Israel Network), Canada
  419.  Michel Legrand, President of Comité Pour Une Paix Juste Au Proche-Orient, Luxembourg 
  420. Ahmed Abbes, mathematician, Director of research in Paris, France
  421. Drs. Jakob de Jonge, Visual Artist, The Netherlands
  422. Dr. Enrico De Angelis, independent researcher, Italy
  423. Deb Reich Author, No More Enemies Writer/translator Israel
  424. Ms Katherine Priestley, Treasurer, Lewisham Friends of Palestine, UK
  425. Dr. Leonov Hadas, Board member of the Juedische Stimme, Germany 
  426. Michèle Sibony, French Jewish Union for Peace, France
  427. Maha Abdallah, Legal Researcher and Human Rights Advocate, Palestine
  428. Luz Diaz, DJ / Curator/ Community organiser, Room 4 Resistance, Germany
  429. Nicholas Morris Member, Global Network on the Question of Palestine, UK
  430. Doris Ghannam, Activist, Germany
  431. Seth Aubrey Pyenson, Activist, Germany
  432. Solveig Qu Suess, Filmmaker, Researcher and PhD Candidate, Basel University, Switzerland
  433. Ahmed Abed, Lawyer of the BT3P (bt3p.org), Germany
  434. Omar Ashour, Medical intern, University of Maastricht; founding chair, Free Palestine Maastricht, The Netherlands
  435. Franklin Ledezma Candanedo, Journalist, writer and member of the COPASOLPA (Panamanian Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian People), Panama
  436. Danna Marshall, Student Activist, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  437. Jumana Manna, Artist, Germany
  438. Katharine Halls, Translator, UK
  439. Heiko Schmidt, Bookseller, Germany
  440. David Morgan, Consultant Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst, UK
  441. Mohammad Braiwish, Managing Director, TrafQuest Engineering Consulting, United Arab Emirates 
  442. Alisa Gayle-Deutsch, Musician Toronto, Ontario, Canada 
  443. Judith Deutsch, psychoanalyst, Canada
  444. Deena R. Hurwitz, Independent human rights lawyer, USA
  445. Maj Britt Jensen, Visual Artist and PhD student at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia Germany/Canada
  446. Dr. Clemens Messerschmid, independent hydrogeologist, Palestine
  447. Gabi Bieberstein, Spokesperson for the Regional Working Group on Peace and International Politics in North Rhine-Westphalia of DIE LINKE, Member of the National Council of Attac, Germany
  448. Dr. Detlef Griesche, Vice-President of the German-Palestinian Society, Germany
  449. Phil Butland, Commissioning Editor, theleftberlin.com, Germany
  450. Ursula Mathern, Disarmament and Peace Activist, Germany
  451. Naoual Belakhdar, Political scientist, Germany
  452. Peter Leuenberger, Historian, Switzerland
  453. Jessica Lauren Elizabeth Taylor, Black in Berlin, Curator, Norway
  454. Gabriela (Nin) Solis Gutiérrez, Photographer, Mexico
  455. Dror Feiler, Chair, European Jews for a Just Peace, Sweden
  456. Arthur Goodman Diplomatic and Parliamentary Officer, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, UK
  457. Jowan Safadi, Musician, writer and activist, Palestine (AKA Israel)
  458. Michael Warschawski, Activist and Journalist, Chairman of the Alternative Information Center, Jerusalem
  459. Mr Craig Murray, Journalist, former British Ambassador and Rector of the University of Dundee Scotland, UK
  460. Yuval Gal Cohen, Part of JID.Le – Jüdisch Israelischer Dissens Leipzig, Germany
  461. Berna Toprak, PhD Candidate Political Sociology University of Amsterdam, Co-Founder of Muslim women’s collective S.P.E.A.K., The Netherlands
  462. Maria Fernanda Caceres, Lawyer, Chile
  463. Yara Kayyali, Palestine
  464. Jaap Hamburger, Chair for Een Ander Joods Geluid, The Netherlands
  465. Frances Webber, Vice-chair of the Institute of Race Relations, London, UK
  466. Michael Sappir, Writer, Germany
  467. Marwa Fatafta, Al-Shabaka, Germany
  468. Esra Ozyurek, UK
  469. Kiefah Muhaisen, Palestinian in Germany
  470. Yehudit Yinhar, Artist, Germany
  471. R. Goossens, Project manager, The Netherlands
  472. Dr. Jennifer Petzen, Social Scientist, Germany
  473. Dr. Kerem Schamberger, political activist, Germany
  474. Dr. Dror Dayan, Senior Lecturer in Media Production, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
  475. Roger Waters, Musician/Activist
  476. Dr. Eik Doedtmann, Postdoctoral researcher, Filmuniversity Babelsberg, Germany
  477. John Smith, Artist, Emeritus Professor of Fine Art, University of East London, UK
  478. Lynne Segal, Professor Emerita, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
  479. Laura Mulvey, Professor of Film Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
  480. Marina Warner, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
  481. Miriam Margolyes, actor, UK
  482. Kika Markham, actor, UK
  483. Roy Battersby, television director, UK
  484. Penny Woolcock, screenwriter, director, UK
  485. David Farr, writer, director, UK
  486. Alexei Sayle, comedian, writer, broadcaster, UK
  487. Gillian Slovo, author, UK
  488. Hanan Al-Shaykh, writer, UK
  489. Victoria Brittain, writer, UK
  490. Carmen Callil, publisher, writer, UK
  491. Selma Dabbagh, writer, UK
  492. April De Angelis, playwright, UK
  493. Dr. Rachel Holmes, writer, UK
  494. Brigid Keenan, author, United Kingdom
  495. Dr. Dana Mills, writer, Israel 
  496. Dr. Maggie Gee, novelist, UK
  497. Omar Al-Qattan, Chair, AM Qattan Foundation, UK
  498. Charlotte Prodger, artist, Scotland
  499. Saeed Taji Farouky, filmmaker and educator, UK
  500. Dr. Miranda Pennell, artist, filmmaker, UK
  501. Dr. Daniel O’Gorman, Vice Chancellor Research Fellow in English Literature, Oxford Brookes University, UK
  502. Angela Davis, scholar, activist, US
  503. Dr. Kristina Kolbe, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  504. Dr. Ladan Rahbari, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  505. China Miéville, writer, UK
  506. Sabrina Mahfouz, writer, UK
  507. Gemma Jackson, Production Designer, UK

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Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: February

Dear friend,


This month, we share with you some victories from the UK and Switzerland, an important analysis on German case law in favour of BDS, updates on the cases of BT3P and BDS Austria, new cases of repression in Germany and The Netherlands, and a landmark European Citizens Initiative.

A VICTORY IN THE UK

We are excited to share the victory of Shahd Abusalama who defeated unfounded allegations intended to exclude her from academia and repress her legitimate criticism of Israel’s unlawful apartheid regime. After Shahd was suspended from a teaching position at Sheffield Hallam University, the ELSC supported her legally, alongside a wide public campaign launched #InSupportofShahd. As a result of our combined efforts, the University reinstated Shahd’s teaching, confirmed it would not be investigating the accusations and offered her a more secure contract.

Read more


SWISS PRESS COUNCIL STANDS WITH BDS

BDS Switzerland member Birgit Althaler, supported by the ELSC, succeeded in challenging efforts by the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities to push the Swiss Press Council to revoke a decision in favour of BDS. Indeed, in a milestone decision on 15 February, the Swiss Press Council upheld its initial decision to sanction Prime News that unfoundedly labelled BDS Switzerland as “antisemitic”. The Council also acknowledged that the controversial examples of the IHRA-WDA are not suitable for journalistic purposes.

Share this victory

Can you help us to win more cases? Support our Legal Aid fund with a monthly donation.


UPDATES FROM GERMANY

Despite anti-BDS policies in place in Germany, since 2019, 7 German courts have consistently upheld the right of activists to use public facilities for BDS-related events, reaffirming the legitimacy of BDS.

Read our new legal analysis on German case law

The latest ruling of Leipzig Federal Court on 20 January 2022 against Munich’s anti-BDS resolution has already resulted in positive outcomes for the Palestine solidarity movement. In Munich, the cultural institution Eine Welt Haus declared that it will host again  BDS-related events. In Frankfurt, an official also announced that the municipal venue Saalbau is renting again its spaces for BDS-related activities.

Positive precedents in Germany reinforce the lawsuit of the Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) aiming to repeal the German Parliament’s anti-BDS resolution and end this tactic of repression targeting Palestinian rights advocates.

Donate to help BT3P

The repression against Palestinian voices extends in the media as the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) fired seven Arab journalists; four of them are Palestinians including Farah Maraqa whom the ELSC has been supporting.

DW relied on a highly politicised and biased investigation report that erases the Palestinian reality from public debate and perpetuates Israel’s oppression. The investigation evidently uses the controversial IHRA definition on antisemitism, which is misused to silence criticism of Israel.

In a joint letter, 100 civil society organisations, including the ELSC, urged DW to retract its inaccurate and defamatory report and end its unfounded smear campaigns against journalists that amplify Palestinian voices.

Read the letter


EUROPEAN LANDMARK EUROPEAN CITIZENS INITIATIVE

The Stop Settlements coalition – of which the ELSC is part – has launched its European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) petition aimed at gathering 1 million signatures to push the EU to enact a ban on trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories, in line with its international law obligations.

SIGN THE PETITION

Read more about the ECI


REPRESSION IN THE NETHERLANDS

The Rights Forum, a leading Palestinian rights organisation in the Netherlands, is facing a harsh smear campaign led by Israel-advocacy groups after the leak of a legitimate Freedom of Information (FOI) request the organisation made on behalf of academics and students to Dutch universities. The goal of the FOI was to get information on their ties to Israeli academic institutions and companies, as well as other organisations supportive of Israel’s regime of apartheid. 

Read their statement (Dutch)

Share our Twitter thread

In a recent repression attempt, the student-led organisation Free Palestine Maastricht (FPM) has been targeted in an unfounded smear campaign by Israel-advocacy groups and political actors that aim to suppress the organisation’s legitimate work of exposing Israel’s apartheid, and push the University of Maastricht to investigate them.  

Read FPM statement

Share your support to FPM


MUNICIPALITY OF VIENNA V. BDS AUSTRIA

One month after the hearing in Vienna, BDS Austria activist is still waiting for a ruling by the Court on the “urgent” request of the Municipality of Vienna that filed a lawsuit against him over a Facebook post of the famous “Visit Apartheid” poster.

Read more

The tactic of delayed court decisions is often characteristic of SLAPPs and is meant to intimidate activists and suppress their legitimate public participation in civic space.

Sign the petition

Donate


RESOURCES AND NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE

On 1 February 2022, Amnesty International reaffirmed decades of Palestinian rights advocacy and released its report condemning Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians as a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity. Amnesty has also launched its petition “Demolish Apartheid not Palestinian Homes”.

Read the full report

Sign the petition

Categories
Media Coverage

Over 100 Civil Society Organizations Call on DW to Retract the Biased Report and End the Smear Campaign

Over one hundred local, regional and international civil society organizations have signed an open letter in solidarity with Palestinians, condemning Deutsche Welle’s (DW) inaccurate and defamatory report, calling for the retraction of the accusations and demanding the protection of the right to Palestinian freedom of speech.

On Monday 6th February 2022, Deutsche Welle (DW) published the findings from its internal investigation into accusations of antisemitism within its Arabic-language news department. The investigation committee also examined Deutsche Welle Akademie (DWA) partners. The report includes a number of defamatory accusations and smears DWA’s Palestinian partner organizations. 

This report is just the latest development in an ongoing anti-Palestinian smear campaign intended to silence Palestinian voices, restrict freedom of expression, suppress legitimate criticism of ongoing Israeli violations against Palestinians, and ultimately prevent Palestinian journalists and Palestinian organizations from seeking accountability. The result is a chilling effect that prevents Palestinians from sharing their experiences of oppression and systematic human rights violations with the rest of the world.

The undersigned coalition of civil society organizations stressed their commitment to fighting racism in all forms, including antisemitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia. However, the DW report adopts a problematic framework that conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism, and seeks to position legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitism. This approach also dangerously associates the actions of the Israeli authorities with Jewish communities around the world, and falsely links them to the systemic oppression of Palestinians. 

In addition, the coalition also condemns the lack of professionalism in the procedural process adopted by DW’s investigation committee. The committee lacked diversity and relevant expertise,none of the committee members  are experts in anti-racism and some have also made Islamophobic statements in the past. Additionally, the targeted partner organizations were not invited to a consultation during the investigation process, they were only notified hours before the report release that they were mentioned, and their relationship with DWA would be impacted. This further proves the lack of transparency and accountability of DW’s investigation committee. 

We, the targeted organizations and supporters, are calling on DW and DWA to immediately take the following actions:

  • Retract the biased report and end the smear campaign.
  • Form an objective, non-biased committee made up of anti-racism experts to investigate any wrongdoing, and consult with the journalists and Palestinian partner organizations. 
  • Commit to freedom of expression and the adoption of a less biased antisemitism definition endorsed by both Jewish and Palestinian human rights defenders, such as the Jerusalem Declaration on antisemitism.
  • Allow political debate free of all forms of racism and hate, including antisemitism and islamophobia.

Read the letter here.

Resource: https://7amleh.org/2022/02/21/over-100-civil-society-organizations-call-on-dw-to-retract-the-biased-report-and-end-the-smear-campaign

Categories
Media Coverage

The Case of Shahd Abusalama – A Palestinian Scholar Successfully Defeated Attempts to Silence Her

Shahd Abusalama faced a smear campaign and was about to lose a teaching position at Sheffield Hallam University. Her case, which we supported, illustrates the trend of growing repression of Palestinian rights advocacy on UK campuses. Shahd’s case also illustrates that solidarity and coordination are an effective way to collectively push back against unjust repression of legitimate advocacy for Palestinian rights.

Shahd Abusalama is a resilient third-generation Palestinian refugee from Gaza who has survived Israel’s regular military aggressions on Palestinians in Gaza. She is an artist, activist and a PhD scholar at Sheffield Hallam University.

Shahd was smeared in the press by Israel advocacy groups due to a Twitter thread she posted in December 2021, where she provided context to a protest banner stating, “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust”. These unfounded allegations are meant to exclude her from academia because she is a critical voice advocating for justice and freedom in Palestine.

On 21 January 2022, a day before Shahd was supposed to start her teaching as an associate lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University suspended her classes and launched an investigation against her without any explanation. In response, a powerful worldwide public campaign supported by the Sheffield Hallam UCU, civil society organisations, academics, students, with dozens of support letters as well as support by the ELSC, led to the University deciding to reinstate Shahd’s teaching on 27 January 2022.

Despite this, Shahd remained under investigation. In coordination with UCU Hallam, the ELSC requested the university to drop its investigation on the basis that it was discriminatory, conducted in violation of its own policies and in violation of Shahd’s freedom of expression.

On 3 February 2022, the university informed Shahd that they were dropping the investigation against her. The university also agreed to offer Shahd a more secure employment contract, affording her better pay and other benefits as requested in our letter.

Shahd’s victory is symbolic of the necessity and impact of solidarity against unjust silencing tactics that deliberately target Palestinian rights advocates in Europe, including the use of the controversial IHRA-Working Definition on Antisemitism and its examples, that Sheffield Hallam University adopted last year.

Read more about the case here:

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/what-we-should-learn-shahd-abusalamas-victory

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/2/10/how-a-palestinian-academic-defeated-a-campaign-to-silence-her

https://mondoweiss.net/2022/02/defeating-the-ihra-witch-hunt-an-interview-with-palestinian-activist-and-scholar-shahd-abusalama/

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/podcast-ep-51-defeating-censorship-uk-campus

Categories
Event

Workshop in Support of Students’ On-Campus Activism in the UK

As the Israel Apartheid Week is approaching, the ELSC is participating in a workshop organised by Young Palestine Solidarity Campaign on the 8th of February at 6 PM London time. The workshop is tailored for student solidarity organisers and student activist groups in support of Palestinian rights. It aims to address what Israeli Apartheid Week is, as to guide student activists in organising for this important international Palestine solidarity event that mobilises support for the Palestinian struggle for justice and human rights at their respective universities.

The workshop features the European Legal Support Center and the Palestinian BDS National Committee. Our intervention seeks to empower student solidarity groups in their activism on Palestine, as to be aware on how to push back against on-campus repression tactics including smear campaigns, unfounded allegations of antisemitism, the use of the controversial IHRA-Working Definition of Antisemitism, legal threats, denial of access to public spaces, cancellation of events, or disciplinary procedures.

Register here: bit.ly/3reti1P

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: January

Dear friend,

This month we share with you our 2021 achievements in pushing back against silencing Palestinian rights advocacy, a campaign in support of an activist of BDS Austria sued over a Facebook post, updates on the repression of Palestinian civil society, an important ruling in Germany on the illegality of anti-BDS motion, and unfounded allegations of antisemitism to delegitimise Palestinian rights supporters in the UK.

ELSC 2021 ACHIEVEMENTS

The year 2021 witnessed a rise in global mobilisation efforts for justice, Palestinian rights, and an end of apartheid. As Palestinian rights advocacy exposed Israel’s human rights violations and empowered the discourse on Palestine, the Israeli government and its allied groups intensified their attacks against Palestinian rights advocates.

In this context, the ELSC provided legal support in 80 cases of repression against advocates for Palestinian rights in Europe, assisting over 140 advocates including Palestinian and European CSOs, activist groups, students, academics, artist and cultural institutions. Read below on the successful experience of Progetto Palestina, a student activist group based in Italy, which confronted repression with resilience:

It gave us new energy and we started working to transform this attack into an opportunity. The ELSC backed us, and allowed us to focus on our activities while they took care of the legal aspects of the issue. We started a communication campaign on and off campus, which culminated in a big demonstration on Nakba Day, when more than 5.000 people marched for the streets of Turin, demanding the end of the apartheid regime and a free Palestine.

Read more on our achievements here

Nakba Day Demonstration, May 2021, Turin.

Can you help us to win more cases? Support our Legal Aid fund with a monthly donation.

CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF BDS-AUSTRIA FACING UNFAIR LAWSUIT

This month, we launched a public campaign in support of a member of BDS Austria facing a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) filed by the Municipality of Vienna.

The Municipality claims defamation over a picture posted by BDS Austria on Facebook showing the famous “Visit Apartheid” poster with the logo of the City of Vienna, which was placed by unknown people on a billboard in Vienna.

This case reflects the pattern of targeting Palestinian rights advocates through the adoption of the illegal anti-BDS motion as illustrated in this expert opinion. The activist is now facing a lawsuit with legal costs and damages that could amount up to €35.000. The lawsuit was challenged in a court hearing on the 28th of January and the case is still pending. To support the activist, we are raising donations to help him cover the legal fees, if you stand for Palestinian rights advocacy please support by donating.

Donate here

Over 1600 people have signed our petition, co-sponsored with the European Coordination of Committees and Associations For Palestine (ECCP), calling upon the Municipality of Vienna to withdraw its unfounded lawsuit and repeal its anti-BDS motion.

Sign the petition

Share our Twitter thread, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram posts with the hashtag #ViennaVisitApartheid

UPDATES FROM THE UK

On-campus repression and violations of academic freedom in the UK escalate with the latest attack on the Palestinian PhD student Shahd Abusalama, supported by the ELSC. Shahd got suspended from teaching by Sheffield Hallam University as a result of a smear campaign by pro-Israel groups that deliberately targeted her as a critical voice against the reality of apartheid in Palestine. The significant #InSupportofShahd campaign successfully resulted in Shahd’s reinstatement, yet her case is still under an investigation.

Share our Twitter thread #InSupportofShahd

Graphic via SOAS Palestine Society on Twitter.

If you too have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy, make sure to fill out our incident report form and request legal support if you need.

Report an Incident

A VICTORY FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN GERMANY

The German federal court of Leipzig ruled that Munich’s anti-BDS policy violates the freedom of expression. The Federal court also affirmed that the anti-BDS resolution is not law. The ruling unfolds amidst a context of harsh repression of Palestinian rights advocates in Germany, and therefore represents a victory for the Palestine solidarity movement and BDS supporters in the country.

Read more here

Keep posted, we will soon release an analysis on the judgement! This jurisprudence shows more than ever the legitimacy and the necessity of the BT3P campaign that is asking the German Parliament to repeal its anti-BDS motion. After the Administrative Court of Berlin dismissed their complaint in October 2021, they recently filed an appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Berlin-Brandenburg.

Read more on BT3P v. Bundestag

Donate to help the BT3P with their legal fees

CASE UPDATE IN FRANCE

A French Court is also set to be ruling on the legitimacy of BDS since on 27th January 2022, there was a hearing in the Court of Appeal of Lyon on the case of French activist Olivia Zémor who was sued for reporting boycott calls. The first instance judgement, in May 2021, was crucial as it acquitted her by referring to the landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that asserted the legitimacy of BDS calls under freedom of expression.

Read more

We hope that the Court of Appeal will confirm the first instance judgement and reaffirm the legality of BDS. The decision is expected on 5 May 2022.

CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

Lawfare and disinformation campaigns continue to harm Palestinian civil society as Israel seeks to enforce its unsubstantiated designation. Yet, a new article by +972 Magazine exposes another failed effort by Israel to convince European officials of the unfounded allegations of ties with terrorism against the six prominent Palestinian CSOs.

Even without any evidence on the misuse of funds – confirmed by an external investigation – the Dutch government has given into political pressure by ending its funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a vital organisation in the occupied Palestinian territory. The decision has been widely condemned by international civil society actors that mobilised collectively to urge the Dutch government to resume its funding to UAWC and reject Israel’s designation.

Read our joint statement with The Rights Forum

Read the joint letter of 60 CSOs here

Read the joint letter of 28 Dutch NGOs (Dutch)

In a statement, the Charity & Security Network also condemned the Dutch government’s decision and urged donors to continue their support for Palestinian civil society, providing them with an important briefing and guidelines.

Share on Twitter

In another politically driven move, the European Commission (EC) suspended funds to Al-Haq in May 2021. After a successful audit and while there is no evidence on the misuse of funds, the EC still has not resumed funding. Not only it contributes to the unfounded attack on the Palestinian civil society, but it also violates principles of good administration and proportionality.

Read Al-Haq’s statement

Check our Twitter thread

You can help us to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe.

Donate

If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: November

Dear friend,
 
This month we share with you important updates on challenging Israel’s attack on Palestinian civil society and the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy in Europe including in the Netherlands and the UK, a webinar, op-eds, and other news and resources.  
 
On the 29th of November, which marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we shared our solidarity statement reaffirming the need to stand and defend Palestinian rights (advocates) every day.

ELSC NEWS

We released a new leaflet addressing 10 situations in which our team can defend the right to advocate for Palestinian rights as to empower advocates and help them to challenge repression through legal avenues.

Share on Twitter

UPDATES FROM THE UK

The ELSC has recently intervened at an event on Combatting the Chilling Effect on Academic Freedom and Palestine advocacy on UK campuses organised by the UCU (University and College Union) inWarwick University and open to staff and students.

On-campus repression of Palestinian rights advocacy continues in the UK, as LSE students were heavily smeared for protesting against the participation of the Israeli ambassador in the UK Tzipi Hotovely in a debate on Middle East Peace. We have stood in firm support to the LSE students who have the full right to protest against apartheid regimes and their representatives, and we have urged the university to ensure the provision of a safe space for dissenting opinions.

Share our statement on Twitter

Such illegitimate repression is met with resilient efforts to amplify Palestinian rights advocacy. Queens Mary Students have voted to revoke the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, as to reclaim the unprotected rights of students and academics to advocate for Palestinian rights on-campus.

On the same topic, Larissa Kennedy – the President of the National Union of Students in the UK – signed an op-ed titled “After BLM, Palestine solidarity is the litmus test for UK campus freedom of expression” where she asserts the rights of the student movement to protest and continue the struggle for justice and liberation.

CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY

An investigation released by +972 and The Intercept showed that the “evidence” claimed by the Israeli government to designate six Palestinian prominent human rights organisations as “terrorist” was flawed. Despite that, the responses from EU States and institutions to the unfounded designation remained relatively weak. Therefore, we joined more than 100 organisations, human rights groups, unions, and parties to call upon the EU to take strong actions against this serious attack on Palestinian civil society.

Read the letter

With our partners Al Haq, PAX, SOMO and the Rights Forum, we held a webinar on challenging the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy in Palestine as well as the attempts to silence advocates in the Netherlands. The webinar featured Wesam Ahmad from Al Haq, who focused on the implications of the designation and the expected actions from third state parties including the Netherlands. Giovanni Fassina (ELSC) and Lydia De Leeuw (SOMO) also addressed the responsibilities of the Dutch government in protecting civic space for Palestinian rights advocates in the Netherlands.

UPDATES FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Our op-ed “How Palestine advocacy is silenced in the Netherlands” has been published by Middle East Eye. The ELSC’s Director, Giovanni Fassina, covers the main findings of our report on “The Attempt to Chill Palestinian Rights Advocacy in the Netherlands”, which reveals a pattern of deliberate attempts by Israel-advocacy groups and other actors to intimidate, smear and silence those who legitimately stand up and advocate for Palestinian rights.

Read the full report

The outspoken academics Karin Arts and Jeff Handmaker also published their op-ed “The Netherlands must speak out against Israel’s attack on Palestinian organisations” urging the Dutch government and the European Union to stand up for the Palestinian NGOs under an illegitimate attack deliberately aimed at silencing voices for Palestinian freedom and human rights.

In further response to Israel’s attack on the six NGOs, directors of Palestinian NGOs were in the Netherlands to meet with Dutch officials. Read this article for an analysis by Shawan Jabarin, the director of Al Haq, who reiterated that they won’t be intimidated by such an attack.

RESOURCES & NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE AND PALESTINE

In a recent report, Front Line Defenders reveals that six Palestinian human rights defenders, including three members of the groundlessly designated organisations, got hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware. The hackings were confirmed just before the designation. Front Line Defenders asserts that counter-terrorism legislation must never be instrumentalised to repress legitimate human rights.

In response, a joint letter signed by a number of international CSOs and independent experts including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has urged the EU to adopt targeted sanctions against NSO Group.

Additionally, Apple is suing NSO Group to hold it accountable for the abuse of state-sponsored spyware, surveillance and targeting of Apple users.

Importantly, on the 12th of November, the OECD UK National Contact Point found UK company JCB in breach of its human rights obligations due to the use of its products to illegally demolish Palestinian homes. Read the analysis of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights on the case.

A few days later, Amnesty UK issued a new report exposing the responsibilities of JCB in war crimes being committed in the occupied Palestinian Territories.


If you have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at university, work, or during a protest in a public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

REPORT AN INCIDENT

You can join our movement to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe. If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, share our posts and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

DONATE

Categories
Case Update

German Court dismisses the complaint against the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution. The plaintiffs announce: “We will appeal!”

On October 7, 2021, the Administrative Court of Berlin held the first hearing on the complaint filed in 2020 by the Palestinian-Jewish-German initiative Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) that aimed at challenging the anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions resolution adopted by the Bundestag in 2019.

Since 2020, the ELSC has been supporting the BT3P team and lawyer Ahmed Abed to challenge the resolution that falsely condemns the movement as antisemitic and severely impacted Palestinian rights advocacy resulting in smears and denial of public space whilst infringing on the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Read more in our case summary here.

Also see the summary of the statement of claim in the proceedings before the Administrative Court of Berlin.

During the hearing, BT3P clarified that their efforts to guarantee equal rights for all people in Palestine and Israel cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Conversely, the Bundestag’s legal representatives questioned the BT3P’s legal standing to challenge the resolution, as the latter does not directly mention the plaintiffs. Moreover, the Bundestag’s legal team challenged the jurisdiction of the Court on the complaint and pointed out that the legal issues at stake should be addressed to the Federal Constitutional Court.

The Court did not agree with these preliminary remarks made by the Bundestag and recognised both its jurisdiction on the case and BT3P’s legal standing to challenge the resolution. On the merits, the three judges ruled that the fundamental rights of the complainants have not been violated and the Bundestag is allowed to use the controversial IHRA-WDA as a parameter to assess antisemitism.

The hearing was followed by a press conference in which Associate Professor of International Law John Reynolds, who was instructed by the ELSC to write a legal opinion on the motion along with three other renowned scholars of international law[1], underlined that the Bundestag anti-BDS resolution is incompatible with international and European human rights standards, including the right to freedom of expression. Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK’s director Ben Jamal, and Bertrand Heilbronn, president of the AFPS (Association France Palestine Solidarité) also contributed, expressing solidarity and sharing their experience of anti-BDS policies and legislation in France and the UK.

Amir Ali, one of the plaintiffs, stated the following: “We will appeal. With this complaint we are opposing the systematic suppression of human rights work for Palestinians in Germany ”. The legal representative of the BT3P initiative, lawyer Ahmed Abed, pointed out that it is already a success that the Court has rejected the Bundestag’s attempt to exclude the plaintiffs’ right to challenge the Bundestag’s resolution and added: “We see good chances for the next instance”.

See the BT3P website and support them here.

Watch the press conference (in German) – See in English John Reynolds’ and Ben Jamal’s interventions from min 14:40 to 22:30 and Bertrand Heilbronn’s intervention from 48:00 to 52:00.

© picture: Mathilde Babo

References

References
1 Eric David, Emeritus Professor of International Law at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Xavier Dupre De Boulois, Professor of Law of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Richard Falk, Emeritus Professor of International Law, Princeton University and Chair of Global Law, Faculty of Law, Queen Mary University London
Categories
Event

Webinar: Resisting the IHRA Definition

On the occasion of the launch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s website ‘No to the IHRA definition’, the ELSC will be part of a panel to discuss the impact of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism on Palestinian rights advocacy and how to resist it.

Wednesday 22 September 2021 at 7pm CET (6pm UK time)

REGISTER here to attend the webinar.

Among other groups in Europe and the UK, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in the UK is campaigning again the IHRA definition of antisemitism that conflates criticism of the policies and practices of the State of Israel, with antisemitism.

The Director of the ELSC Giovanni Fassina will be part of the panel as the organisation has been providing legal support to many Palestinian rights advocates who faced unfounded allegations of antisemitism in the UK, based on the use of the IHRA definition.

Join us at 6pm (UK Time) on Wednesday the 22nd of September as the PSC launches its ‘No to the IHRA definition’ website which aims to give activists and campaigners the information and tools needed to resist or push back against the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism in various settings across the UK, including within universities and local councils.

Speakers:
Ben Jamal – PSC Director
Giovanni Fassina – European Legal Support Center (ELSC) Director
Tom Hickey – British Committee for Universities of Palestine (BRICUP)
Rabbi Alissa Wise – Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Former Deputy Director
Neve Gordon – Professor of International Law and Human Rights, Queen Mary University

Categories
Release

ELSC Year-in-Review: 2020

Today the ELSC announces the release of our 2020 Year-in-Review, which provides an overview our work, achievements and cases in the defence of Palestinian rights advocacy in Europe during 2020.

In 2020, we responded to 39 cases of individuals, groups and organisations who faced repression for their advocacy in 11 European countries. Examples of our work included assisting students and academics in campus disciplinary proceedings for false and inflammatory allegations of antisemitism. In 23 of the cases, we supported litigation or legal defence outside of courts by working with our network of lawyers and partner organisations, and preparing legal opinions, memos and submissions.

Based on extensive ELSC monitoring of repression of advocacy for Palestinian rights across Europe, with a focus on the UK and Netherlands, we expanded our incidents and legal database and raised awareness about unlawful restrictions of fundamental rights and civic space faced by the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe.

Reflecting on our 2020, ELSC Programme Director, Giovanni Fassina shares:

As we move forward with our work in 2021, in times of growing global mobilization for Palestinian rights, we hope to continue our work in support of the movement. Yet, the ELSC’s work is only possible thanks to the manifold engagement of our friends, including our partner organisations around the world and institutional donors and individuals who have provided generous donations. For this, I and the ELSC team are deeply grateful.”

Click here to read the full report

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: June

This month we share with you updates from our work around Europe. In Brussels, we sent a joint letter to the EU commission challenging the political instrumentalization of the controversial IHRA definition, in the UK we assisted students and academics to challenge repression when they speak up in defence of Palestinian rights and we challenged PayPal to shape up its policy on account closures.

We also express our sincere condolences to our partner organization Al Haq after the shocking death of brilliant human rights defender Suha Jarrar yesterday. Suha was a legal researcher in Al Haq since 2017. Our hearts and thoughts go to Suha’s family, colleagues and loved ones.

CHALLENGING THE EU COMMISSION ON POLITICAL INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF ANTISEMITISM

In June, the ELSC joined 9 other networks and European organizations to send an open letter to the European Commission, in anticipation of its “comprehensive strategy on combating antisemitism”, which it is currently in preparation. The letter addresses, among other things, the endorsement and the use of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism that has been having a harmful impact on Palestinian rights advocates’ freedom of expression and work.

We ask the Commission to reaffirm its commitment to freedom of expression and to civic space for rights-based advocacy and activism on Israel-Palestine.

Read about the letter and amplify the news:

REPRESSION INTENSIFIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM   

In the UK, activists, students, academics and even children are facing increasing repression because they speak up about Palestine. The requests of legal support received by the ELSC from UK students and academics have been increasing these past weeks. Individuals have been smeared and face complaints because they tweeted or signed letters in support of Palestinian human rights and criticizing Israeli violations of international law. In schools, children have been punished because they expressed support for Palestine and sometimes, they had to face the police. See this Channel 4 documentary and this report by MEND.

If you know anyone who has faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at school, work, or during a protest in public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

If you know anyone who has faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at school, work, or during a protest in public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

Report an Incident

At the ELSC, our team has been working tirelessly to ensure Palestinian rights activists are supported and defended. When needed, we work in partnership with local lawyers to bring cases before national courts. This summer, we are aiming to raise €5000 to make sure we are able to offer legal assistance to everyone at risk or affected by repression.  We are €3000 away from our goal.  Will you help us reach this goal with a one-time or monthly donation to our legal aid fund?

Donate to our Legal Aid Fund

For more information on how to make your donation tax-deductible, please contact fundraiser@elsc.support.

PAYPAL TOLD TO SHAPE UP POLICIES ON ACCOUNT CLOSURES

Nearly two dozen rights groups, including the ELSC and our partner 7amleh, have joined together to tell PayPal and its subsidiary Venmo to shape up its policies on account freezes and closures.

“While companies like Facebook and YouTube have faced substantial scrutiny for their history of account closures, financial companies like PayPal have often flown under the radar. Now, the human rights community is sending a clear message that it’s time to change,” said EFF International Director of Freedom of Expression Jillian York.

PayPal has an history of closing accounts of Palestinian rights activists and of lacking of services in Palestine, as reported by 7amleh. More than 170 000 people also signed a petition asking PayPal to stop discriminating against Palestinians. Its transparency must be addressed.

Read the letter to PayPal here

RESOURCES & NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE AND PALESTINE

15 June 2021, 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, published its findings of the Index of Racism, Hatred and Incitement against Arabs and Palestinians. The study covers online violations and threats to the digital rights of Palestinians in Hebrew from the 6th to the 21st May 2021, particularly at the height of the last Israeli aggression on Palestinians. The findings show a 15-fold increase in violent speech compared to the same time period last year.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Categories
Statement

Civil society letter to European Commission: counter political instrumentalization of antisemitism

On 15 June, 2021, 10 European NGOs and networks sent an open letter to the European Commission to raise concern about the political instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism. The ELSC is one of the signatories.

The NGOs and networks sent the letter in anticipation of the EU’s “comprehensive strategy on combating antisemitism”, which the European Commission will present at the end of 2021.

They write: “As civil society organizations promoting human rights and respect for international humanitarian law in Israel and Palestine, we are alarmed by the expanding conflation of criticism directed at the State of Israel with antisemitism.

While this conflation is primarily promoted by the Israeli government and organizations affiliated with it, the Commission has so far failed to clearly distance itself from it. Worse, the Commission has been giving a political tailwind to this troubling trend.”

The letter expresses concern about the Commission’s “unqualified endorsement” of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, criticizes the Commission’s “Handbook for the practical use” of that definition and deplores the lack of transparency and of inclusiveness, which has long characterized the Commission’s approach to fighting antisemitism.

The 10 European NGOs and networks call on the Commission to “acknowledge, reject and counter the political instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism”, to “launch a serious and substantial dialogue with concerned civil society organizations” and to “reaffirm the Commission’s commitment to freedom of expression and to civic space for rights-based advocacy and activism on Israel-Palestine in the upcoming strategy on combating antisemitism”.

The full letter can be downloaded here. It has been signed by Broederlijk Delen, 11.11.11, CNCD-11.11.11, European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine(ECCP), European Legal Support Center (ELSC), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), medico international, Plateforme des ONG Françaises pour la Palestine and The Rights Forum.