Arizona State University – HolyLandJustice.org

maxresdefault3 — Hatem Bazian giving introductory remarks at the Zaytuna College commencement, 2014. (photo: YouTube)

The University has revised its contract for speakers removing anti-BDS language.

By Nora Barrows-Friedman | Electronic Intifada | Mar 20, 2018

[The court-ordered agreement with the university allowing Bazian to speak] “is a reflection of the strength of our legal position. We look forward to seeking a declaration that the law, in all of its applications, is unconstitutional.”
— Gadeir Abbas, attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

A university lecturer and Palestine rights activist will be allowed to speak at Arizona State University next month, after initially being barred due to a state law blacklisting advocates of an Israel boycott.

A court-approved agreement with the university allowing the event with Hatem Bazian to go forward is “a welcome development,” Gadeir Abbas, attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told The Electronic Intifada.

In February, the Muslim Students Association at Arizona State University had invited Bazian, University of California at Berkeley lecturer and chair of American Muslims for Palestine, to speak about the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign in support of Palestinian rights during an event on campus in April.

Bazian was asked to sign an agreement that included a clause certifying that he is not engaged with a boycott of Israel.

Continue reading “BDS event at Arizona State University to move forward”

5a9da2851f00002d0016939d — A sign is held by demonstrators calling for an independent Palestinian state during a protest held outside the White House in Washington, DC, on Mar 4, 2018. (photo: Alex Edelman / AFP / Getty Images)

So far, the Justice Department has focused its efforts on free speech cases involving conservatives and Christians.

By Rowaida Abdelaziz and Ryan Reilly | HuffPost | Mar 5, 2018

“Universities have been a beacon of free speech and thought — that is what they have been for all these years, but only certain students are afforded that right to free speech.”
— Imraan Siddiqi, the executive director of CAIR-Arizona

A lawsuit against one of America’s largest public universities could pose a major test for the Justice Department’s commitment to campus free speech.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit in federal court last week against Arizona State University, accusing the school of violating Muslim students’ right to free speech and rights to equal protection by enforcing a ban on speakers who call for boycotting Israel.

The suit was filed on behalf of American Muslims for Palestine and its founder, Hatem Bazian, shortly after Arizona State’s Muslim Students Association invited him to speak at what is billed as an “educational event regarding Palestinian perspectives on Middle East conflict” on April 3.

Bazian, a senior lecturer at University of California in Berkeley, said he could not agree to the school’s speaker’s contract because of a “no boycott of Israel” clause that essentially bars him and others from participating “solely because they engage in and advocate for economic boycotts of Israel as a means to promote Palestinians’ human rights,” according to the lawsuit.

Continue reading “Arizona State’s ban on Israel boycotters tests DOJ’s free speech commitment”