Today, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and Palestine Legal partnered to call on campus administrators at the University of Maryland College Park to reverse an illegal decision blocking student groups, including Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, from organizing a vigil on October 7th.
SEE: CAIR weighs legal action over UMCP’s “free-expression-black-out date” on Oct. 7 (Maryland Matters)
Campus officials had previously given the student group permission to host their vigil, which was going to be co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace. However, last week, they succumbed to pressure from anti-Palestinian groups and revoked permission to host the October 7th vigil and announced that only university-sponsored events would be allowed on campus that day. On September 4, lawyers at Palestine Legal and CAIR sent a letter to campus officials, but have not yet received a reply.
SEE: LINK TO LETTER
In their letter to campus officials, the advocacy groups urged UMD to “avoid a legal clash with the First Amendment it will lose” and explained the rationale for hosting the vigil was to mark the beginning of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza
The student group still seeks permission to host its event, and in a statement attributable to Abel Amene of SJP, condemned the double standard applied against students supporting Palestinian human rights:
“On numerous occasions, Zionist organizations have brought war criminals to our campus, praising their roles in executing genocide, but the university has remained silent. Yet, when it comes to a peaceful vigil to honor the Palestinians that have been brutally murdered within the past year, the university is quick to act, and quick to act even if it means breaking the law,” said Abel Amene.
“Canceling all student expression on October 7th, when the University aims to prevent UMD SJP from speaking, marks a dangerous escalation of the long documented Palestine exception to free speech. Shutting down speech across the board does not make the discrimination against SJP any less obvious or illegal,” said Palestine Legal staff attorney Tori Porell.
“The First Amendment does not allow the government to make October 7th or any other day a free-expression-black-out date. The clarity of the constitutional violation, if maintained, courts conflict,” said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas.
To support SJP’s call for campus officials to allow their vigil to proceed, complete this action alert:
TAKE ACTION – CALL ON UMD TO UPHOLD STUDENTS’ FREE SPEECH ON PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS
CAIR urges concerned individuals to contact UMD administrators and demand that they respect the rights of students to freely express their views and advocate for the causes they believe in, including the defense of Palestinian human rights.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
Palestine Legal’s mission is to bolster the Palestine solidarity movement by challenging efforts to threaten, harass and legally bully activists into silence and inaction.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; Palestine Legal Media, media@palestinelegal.org; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com; CAIR Maryland Outreach Coordinator Kimberly Syuardi, ksyuardi@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com