The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a resolution by the University of Maryland’s Student Government Association (SGA) recognizing Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.
The SGA recently passed a resolution calling on the university to take a number of public actions supporting Palestine. The resolution, which passed with a 16-0-1 vote, demands the university recognize Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. The legislation states that “recognizing Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is an act consistent with UMD’s stated commitments to human rights, dignity, and the promotion of tolerance within the campus community.”
The resolution also calls on the University System of Maryland Foundation and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation to divest from certain arms manufacturers, which it has done in previous resolutions.
SEE: Student Govt. at U. Maryland Passes Resolution Recognizing Palestinian Prisoners’ Day
In a statement, CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
“This landmark decision by the University of Maryland’s SGA is a reflection of the growing chorus of voices on campuses across America demanding justice, dignity and human rights for Palestinians. The Israeli government is holding unknown thousands of Palestinians in detention under appalling and inhumane conditions. Recently, the far-right Israeli government passed a reprehensible bill green-lighting executions exclusively of Palestinians convicted without due process. The Israeli government’s egregious violations of basic human rights have been carried out on a global stage with impunity for decades. This SGA resolution is evidence of mounting pressure for accountability within our institutions and systems.”
SEE: Israel’s death penalty law constitutes discriminatory regime of capital punishment: UN experts
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com