Center For Constitutional Rights: Academic Freedom Under Attack

CCR Action Alert!

Dear CCR Supporter,
In response to rampant and widespread human rights violations committed by Israel with impunity, the movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is growing in the United States.  But as BDS activism for Palestinian human rights grows, so does the threat to a critical and time-honored protest tactic: the right to engage in boycotts to effect political change, which is protected under the First Amendment.
  • In academia, the right to boycott is under fire. State governments in Illinois, New York, and Maryland have introduced legislation that would deny aid to universities that fund organizations that support boycotts of Israeli academic institutions.  Legislation condemning such boycotts is also pending in Pennsylvania and Florida, and we expect more to emerge.  Take action today! Your action makes a huge difference—last month, constituent outcry in New York stalled an even harsher version of an anti-boycott bill.  Similar federal legislation has been introduced and is pending in the House Committee on Education.  If enacted, this law would have a serious impact on the right to boycott in the United States. Please read our reaction to the federal legislation here.
  • There have been threats of litigation against the American Studies Association (ASA) since it endorsed a resolution in December 2013 to boycott Israeli academic institutions. See CCR’s response to threats of litigation against ASA.
  • After voting to boycott Israeli products, Olympia (WA) Food Co-op board members were sued in 2011.  CCR and co-counsel fought – and won – the lawsuit in 2012, and we just argued the appeal last week. For more information about this key case regarding the “Right to Boycott,” please see our case page and stay tuned for the outcome of the argument.
CCR and our partners at Palestine Solidarity Legal Support (PSLS) are tracking and responding to these and other attempts to suppress nonviolent ways of effecting change in Israel-Palestine. In 2013 alone,
PSLS responded to over 100 cases of legal and other intimidation against Palestinian rights activists.  For more information, visit the PSLS website.
Sincerely,
Maria LaHood
Senior Staff Attorney

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated. We aim to review and publish within 24 hours.

Popular posts from this blog

CUNY First Computer System to Aid Administrative Control over Colleges at the Expense of Efficiency and Effectiveness

Guest Post   Every once in a while I get a question, either privately or in a department meeting, regarding CUNYFirst. Here is what I know of CUNYFirst, based on a few years of working with the project as a "training liaison" (which is a fancy term for room-scheduler). (1) The idea of CUNYFirst is a good one: to have a unified, integrated "enterprise"-scale system that encompasses all university/campus business processes. Such a system could, in principle at least, have saved a lot of expenditure on maintaining dozens of disparate, redundant, barely cooperating third-party systems. Such a system could have offered information access that would have benefited the administration, the staff, the faculty, and students. (2) CUNY Central's motives in pursuing CUNYFirst were dominated by an agenda that has nothing to do with such benefits however. Rather, CUNY Central sought absolute control over all college activity, including curriculum. Think of it: whoev...
Read more

USS March Across Brooklyn Bridge for CUNY Funding, March 23

Image
PSC members joined the CUNY University Student Senate in a march from City Hall in Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge to Borough Hall in Brooklyn.  Their message to the State and City officials who are finalizing their annual budgets is - like ours - quite simple: Fund CUNY!  News 12 and other local outlets covered the event . Credit: Joseph Entin
Read more

93% Vote No Confidence in Pathways

The referendum votes have been tallied: a total of 4,322 votes were cast, out of a total number of 7,202 possible votes: a 60% turnout. Of those, 3,996 full-time faculty agreed that they have No Confidence in Pathways, with only 323 voting Disagree (and 3 void ballots). An absolute majority of the full-time faculty are on record as having no confidence in Pathways. That is a stunning rebuke to the new curriculum and the coercive process used to implement it. I will send a longer message to the entire membership shortly, but for now I want to congratulate you all on your extraordinary collective effort in defense of our students' right to a rigorous education. Equipped with this result, we can take the campaign to a new level in the fall. In solidarity, Barbara Bowen
Read more