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Israel lobby spreads more lies about Palestine groups at NYU
Lobby Watch23 October 2020
New York University has agreed to settle with the US Department of Education over allegations that the university had not appropriately responded to claims of anti-Semitism.
Two attorneys filed the complaint last year on behalf of a student who alleged that she faced “two years of extreme anti-Semitism on the NYU campus which has created an intolerable and unlawful hostile atmosphere for Jewish students.”
Echoing previous attempts by Israel advocates to silence Palestinian rights activists on campuses, the complaint accused Students for Justice in Palestine of creating the “hostile” climate due to the group’s criticism of Israel and its state ideology Zionism.
The attorneys who filed the complaint are affiliated with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights – an Israel lobby and lawfare organization separate from Brandeis University.
In 2019 Donald Trump issued an executive order which conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish bigotry.
The executive order is based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) so-called definition of anti-Semitism and has boosted the aims of Israel lobby groups to file baseless complaints against universities over Palestinian rights activism.
The complaint against NYU was filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). At the time, the OCR was led by Kenneth Marcus – who had been head of the Brandeis Center before he was appointed to the federal position by the Trump administration.
At the Brandeis Center, Marcus pioneered the strategy of filing complaints to the OCR under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act alleging that universities fail to protect Jewish students by allowing Palestinian rights activity to take place.
Marcus resigned in July amid likely violations of federal law in prioritizing complaints at the OCR.
“Anti-Palestinian groups had everything going for them,” Radhika Sainath, senior attorney with the organization Palestine Legal, told The Electronic Intifada.
But in the end, Israel lobby groups seeking censorship and punishment of Palestinian rights advocates barely got what they came for.
The NYU settlement acknowledges that the university had not violated any civil rights laws as Marcus’ colleagues asserted.
Under the agreement, the university has committed to tackling bigotry against Jews – but, notably, it has not explicitly conceded any undertaking to prevent criticism of Israel.
NYU’s president was also required to issue a statement to all students, faculty and staff reiterating that the university “does not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment on the basis of shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, including anti-Semitism.”
Nevertheless, anti-Palestinian organizations touted the settlement as a victory.
Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs, an Israel lobby group, spuriously claimed that NYU had violated civil rights laws.
She has not issued a correction.
“They will keep coming back”
Palestine Legal wishes that the university “had fought this and had not agreed to settle,” attorney Radhika Sainath said.
“We hope that other universities fight these types of harassing, completely meritless complaints and don’t give into these settlements,” she told The Electronic Intifada.
Sainath explained that universities are understandably afraid of Trump’s executive order and possible investigations by the Office for Civil Rights and would want to find an easy way out.
But legal experts saw many of these kinds of complaints being filed during the Obama administration. Universities fought them and refused to settle on free speech and academic freedom grounds, she added.
By settling with the federal government, Sainath said, universities may think this can make the problem go away.
“But it won’t – once you open the door to these types of anti-Palestinian attacks, these groups are going to keep coming back and demanding censorship,” she noted.
Over the past several years, the NYU chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, together with supportive professors, have built a strong and resilient Palestinian rights activism community on campus.
Anti-Palestinian groups have long attempted to smear NYU’s Students for Justice in Palestine and their allied groups as anti-Semites in order to protect Israel from criticism.
Despite these efforts and the NYU administration working with Israel lobby organizations “to misrepresent and silence campus activism, the movement will not go away,” Palestine Legal tweeted.
“Students and scholars will not stop demanding peace, justice and equality for Palestinians. And we’re here for it,” the group added.
Human rights groups smeared
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is planning to release a report labeling Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Oxfam as “anti-Semitic” over their work on Palestine.
The State Department is using the IHRA definition to smear such institutions, with information reportedly provided by NGO Monitor– a group that works with the Israeli government to attack human rights defenders.
Part of the State Department’s plan would be to target the international groups’ “alleged or perceived” support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, reported Politico.
Though the groups have vehemently rejected the accusations of anti-Semitism, some of their personnel appear to be playing into the hands of their attackers by impugning the non-violent boycott movement.
Noah Gottschalk of Oxfam America disavowed the BDS campaign, saying that “Oxfam does not support BDS or call for the boycott of Israel or any other country.”
However, grassroots human rights advocates and civil rights groups are pushing back and defending the right to boycott.
The IHRA definition “is not about keeping Jewish people safe,” said Beth Miller from Jewish Voice for Peace Action.
“It’s a tool for censorship and, in this instance, for attacking a boycott movement for justice.”
The Palestinian BDS National Committee called the Trump administration’s smears “McCarthyite attempts” to intimidate and bully human rights groups “into complacency and complicity in human rights abuses.”
Lara Friedman of the Foundation for Middle East Peace warned that this is “just the start” of Israel lobby groups’ efforts to weaponize anti-Semitism in order to shield Israel from legitimate criticism.
Friedman noted that the Zachor Legal Institute, a major Israel lobby and lawfare organization, celebrated the news and explicitly acknowledged that it sees criticism of Israel and anti-Jewish bigotry as one and the same.
“What is key in the IHRA definition is its accuracy for modern anti-Semitism, which includes not only hatred towards Jews, but in specific cases, hatred and delegitimization towards Israel,” Zachor stated, claiming that the human rights groups hold Israel “to a completely different standard than any other country.”
This “double standard” trope is commonly used by Israel advocates to deflect criticism of Israel’s violations of human rights and shield Israel from any and all accountability.
In July, Zachor asked the US Justice Department to investigate ties between the Black Lives Matter movement and “terrorist” groups.
The Israeli government, along with lobby groups like Zachor and the Anti-Defamation League, have long seen Black Lives Matter as a major strategic threat.
Israel and its supporters are clearly agitated by the growing and solidifying solidarity between Palestinian rights campaigners and anti-racist activists in the US.
State Department threatens to smear international rights groups as “anti-Semitic” for defending Palestinian rights.
— Read on electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/israel-lobby-spreads-more-lies-about-palestine-groups-nyu
INTIFADA ELEKTRONIK
Kamu di sini
Lobi Israel menyebarkan lebih banyak pembohongan mengenai kumpulan Palestin di NYU
Nora Barrows-Friedman
Jam Tangan Lobi
23 Oktober 2020
Penunjuk perasaan memegang sepanduk.
Pelajar telah membina komuniti aktivis hak Palestin yang kuat dan berdaya tahan di NYU. (NYU SJP)
Universiti New York telah bersetuju untuk menyelesaikan dengan Jabatan Pendidikan AS atas tuduhan bahawa universiti itu tidak bertindak balas dengan tepat terhadap tuntutan anti-Semitisme.
Dua pengacara mengemukakan aduan tahun lalu atas nama seorang pelajar yang mendakwa bahawa dia menghadapi “dua tahun anti-Semitisme yang melampau di kampus NYU yang telah mewujudkan suasana permusuhan yang tidak dapat ditoleransi dan tidak sah bagi pelajar Yahudi.”
Menyuarakan percubaan sebelumnya oleh penyokong Israel untuk membungkam aktivis hak Palestin di kampus, aduan tersebut menuduh Pelajar Keadilan di Palestin mewujudkan iklim “bermusuhan” kerana kritikan kumpulan itu terhadap Israel dan ideologi negaranya, Zionisme.
Peguam yang mengemukakan aduan itu berafiliasi dengan Pusat Hak Asasi Manusia Louis D. Brandeis – sebuah lobi Israel dan organisasi undang-undang yang terpisah dari Universiti Brandeis.
Pada tahun 2019 Donald Trump mengeluarkan perintah eksekutif yang mengaitkan kritikan terhadap Israel dengan ketaksuban anti-Yahudi.
Perintah eksekutif itu berdasarkan definisi Anti-Semitisme yang disebut oleh International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) dan telah meningkatkan tujuan kumpulan pelobi Israel untuk mengemukakan aduan tidak berasas terhadap universiti mengenai aktivisme hak Palestin.
Aduan terhadap NYU diajukan ke Pejabat Hak Sivil (OCR) Jabatan Pendidikan. Pada masa itu, OCR dipimpin oleh Kenneth Marcus – yang pernah menjadi ketua Pusat Brandeis sebelum dia dilantik ke jawatan persekutuan oleh pentadbiran Trump.
Di Pusat Brandeis, Marcus mempelopori strategi mengajukan aduan kepada OCR di bawah Tajuk VI Akta Hak Sivil 1964 yang menuduh bahawa universiti gagal melindungi pelajar Yahudi dengan membenarkan aktiviti hak Palestin dilakukan.
Marcus mengundurkan diri pada bulan Julai di tengah kemungkinan pelanggaran undang-undang persekutuan dalam mengutamakan aduan di OCR.
“Kumpulan anti-Palestin mempunyai segalanya untuk mereka,” kata Radhika Sainath, peguam kanan organisasi Palestin Legal, kepada The Electronic Intifada.
Tetapi pada akhirnya, kumpulan pelobi Israel yang menuntut penapisan dan hukuman terhadap para pembela hak Palestin hampir tidak mendapat apa yang mereka inginkan.
Penyelesaian NYU mengakui bahawa universiti itu tidak melanggar undang-undang hak sivil seperti yang ditegaskan oleh rakan sekerja Marcus.
Di bawah perjanjian itu, universiti tersebut telah berkomitmen untuk menangani ketaksuban terhadap orang Yahudi – tetapi, khususnya, pihaknya tidak secara eksplisit mengakui sebarang usaha untuk mencegah kritikan terhadap Israel.
Presiden NYU juga diminta untuk mengeluarkan pernyataan kepada semua pelajar, fakulti dan kakitangan yang mengulangi bahawa universiti “tidak bertolak ansur dengan tindakan diskriminasi atau gangguan berdasarkan keturunan dan ciri etnik bersama, termasuk anti-Semitisme.”
Walaupun begitu, organisasi anti-Palestin menganggap penyelesaian itu sebagai kemenangan.
Roz Rothstein, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif StandWithUs, sebuah kumpulan lobi Israel, dengan sengaja menyatakan bahawa NYU telah melanggar undang-undang hak sivil.
Dia belum mengeluarkan pembetulan.
“Mereka akan terus kembali”
Peguam Palestin berharap universiti “memerangi ini dan tidak setuju untuk menyelesaikannya,” kata peguam Radhika Sainath.
“Kami berharap agar universiti-universiti lain dapat melawan jenis gangguan, keluhan tanpa pamrih dan tidak memberikan penyelesaian,” katanya kepada The Electronic Intifada
Sainath menjelaskan bahawa universiti sangat dimaklumi dengan perintah eksekutif Trump dan kemungkinan penyiasatan oleh Pejabat Hak Sivil dan ingin mencari jalan keluar yang mudah.
Tetapi pakar undang-undang melihat banyak jenis keluhan diajukan semasa pemerintahan Obama. Universiti memerangi mereka dan enggan berpegang pada kebebasan bersuara dan kebebasan akademik, katanya.
Dengan menetap dengan kerajaan persekutuan, kata Sainath, universiti mungkin berpendapat bahawa ini dapat mengatasi masalah tersebut.
“Tetapi tidak – apabila anda membuka pintu untuk jenis serangan anti-Palestin ini, kumpulan-kumpulan ini akan terus kembali dan menuntut penapisan,” katanya.
Sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, bab-bab NYU untuk Mahasiswa Keadilan di Palestin dan Yahudi Voice for Peace, bersama dengan profesor yang menyokong, telah membina komuniti aktivisme hak Palestin yang kuat dan berdaya tahan di kampus.
Kumpulan anti-Palestin telah lama berusaha menjadikan Mahasiswa Keadilan NYU di Palestin dan kumpulan sekutu mereka sebagai anti-Semit untuk melindungi Israel dari kritikan.
Walaupun usaha ini dan pentadbiran NYU bekerjasama dengan organisasi lobi Israel “untuk memberi gambaran yang salah dan membungkam aktivisme kampus, gerakan itu tidak akan hilang,” tweet Palestin Legal.
“Pelajar dan cendekiawan tidak akan berhenti menuntut keamanan, keadilan dan kesaksamaan bagi rakyat Palestin. Dan kami berada di sini untuk itu, “tambah kumpulan itu.
Kumpulan hak asasi manusia diburukkan
Sementara itu, pentadbiran Trump merancang untuk mengeluarkan laporan yang melabel Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International dan Oxfam sebagai “anti-Semitik” mengenai kerja mereka di Palestin.
Jabatan Negara menggunakan definisi IHRA untuk memburuk-burukkan institusi tersebut, dengan maklumat yang dilaporkan diberikan oleh NGO Monitor – sebuah kumpulan yang bekerjasama dengan pemerintah Israel untuk menyerang pembela hak asasi manusia.
Sebahagian dari rancangan Departemen Luar Negeri adalah untuk mensasarkan sokongan “diduga atau dirasakan” oleh kumpulan antarabangsa terhadap kempen boikot, penjualan dan sekatan (BDS) terhadap Israel, lapor Politico.
Walaupun kelompok-kelompok itu dengan keras menolak tuduhan anti-Semitisme, beberapa personel mereka tampaknya bermain dengan tangan penyerang mereka dengan memaksa gerakan boikot tanpa kekerasan.
Noah Gottschalk dari Oxfam America menolak kempen BDS, dengan mengatakan bahawa “Oxfam tidak menyokong BDS atau meminta boikot Israel atau negara lain.”
Bagaimanapun, penyokong hak asasi akar umbi dan kumpulan hak sivil menolak dan mempertahankan hak untuk memboikot.
Definisi IHRA “bukan mengenai menjaga keselamatan orang-orang Yahudi,” kata Beth Miller dari Action Voice for Peace.
“Ini alat untuk menapis dan, dalam hal ini, untuk menyerang gerakan boikot untuk keadilan.”
Jawatankuasa Nasional BDS Palestin menyebut tindakan pentadbiran Trump sebagai “percubaan McCarthyite” untuk mengintimidasi dan membuli kumpulan hak asasi manusia “menjadi tidak puas hati dan terlibat dalam pelanggaran hak asasi manusia.”
Lara Friedman dari Yayasan Perdamaian Timur Tengah memberi amaran bahawa ini hanyalah “permulaan” usaha kumpulan pelobi Israel untuk melakukan senjata anti-Semitisme untuk melindungi Israel dari kritikan yang sah.
Friedman menyatakan bahawa Institut Undang-Undang Zachor, sebuah organisasi lobi dan undang-undang Israel yang utama, meraikan berita itu dan secara terang-terangan mengakui bahawa ia melihat kritikan terhadap ketaksuban Israel dan anti-Yahudi sebagai satu.
“Apa yang penting dalam definisi IHRA adalah ketepatannya terhadap anti-Semitisme moden, yang meliputi tidak hanya kebencian terhadap Yahudi, tetapi dalam kes-kes tertentu, kebencian dan pendelegasian terhadap Israel,” kata Zachor, yang mendakwa bahawa kumpulan hak asasi manusia menahan Israel “untuk standard yang sama sekali berbeza daripada negara lain. ”
Jejak “double standard” ini biasa digunakan oleh penyokong Israel untuk menangkis kritikan terhadap pelanggaran hak asasi manusia Israel dan melindungi Israel dari segala pertanggungjawaban.
Pada bulan Julai, Zachor meminta Jabatan Kehakiman AS untuk menyiasat hubungan antara gerakan Black Lives Matter dan kumpulan “pengganas”.
Kerajaan Israel, bersama dengan kumpulan lobi seperti Zachor dan Liga Anti-Fitnah, telah lama melihat Black Lives Matter sebagai ancaman strategik utama.
Israel dan penyokongnya jelas terganggu oleh perpaduan yang semakin meningkat dan kuat antara pejuang hak Palestin dan aktivis anti-perkauman di AS.
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