Genocide of Palestinians & Censorship of Americans
October 13, 2023
The American Muslim Bar Association (“AMBA”) is moved by our founding principles of justice, mercy, compassion, and love, and we collectively grieve the tremendous loss of civilian life in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.
As American lawyers with unwavering dedication to the rule of law, we are profoundly concerned that (1) grave crimes against humanity are being operationalized by public statements of Israeli officials; (2) our U.S. Administration is funding Israel’s genocide; and (3) Americans exercising their right to free speech are facing censorship, intimidation, and retaliation.
Genocidal Intent
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent call for Gaza to be reduced to “rubble” and Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant’s reference to Gazans as “human animals” during his recent declaration of “a complete siege on [Gaza]” with “[n]o electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” are statements which convey genocidal intent.* The civilians of the Gaza Strip were already experiencing abysmal access to basic resources during Israel’s 16-year blockade which amounts to collective punishment, as well as massive dispossession of their lands. Israel is now implementing starvation** as a tool of war on an unprecedented scale and launching one of the most indiscriminate bombardments against a civilian population in recent history, with reported use of white phosphorus.*** The majority of victims have been women and children as Israel intentionally targets civilian infrastructure: schools, hospitals, mosques, and residential buildings. Israel has demanded that 1.1 million civilians leave Gaza in a 24-hour period, calling for a mass expulsion that amounts to ethnic cleansing**** – another Nakba. But these civilians have no exit, as of yet, leaving many to die from the bombardment including trapped American citizens.
President’s Unwavering Support
Despite the aforementioned criminal intent being telegraphed by Israeli officials, the U.S. Administration has expressed an “unshakeable commitment” to having “Israel’s back”, sharing our “defense-related support” and crafting an aid package of $2 billion to supplement the $3.8 billion in funding it provides annually. To underscore the irresponsibility of our government’s response so far, President Biden even falsely claimed to have “see[n] and confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children” without any verified intelligence. The U.S. must understand that this dangerously threatens to inflame what is already a humanitarian catastrophe on the ground.
Censorship Campaigns
The propagation of such misinformation is matched by heavy censorship. AMBA is concerned that the Biden Administration’s call to identify “any domestic threat” may be a first step in using its military might domestically to censor critical voices of scholars and activists, particularly of those who affirm the rights of Palestinians to self-determination.***** In the name of national security, citizens are being stripped of their First Amendment rights. TikTok and Meta are also curbing free speech and routinely freezing social media accounts of activists.
Intimidation Reports
Such censorship is coupled with intimidation. In less than a week, the FBI has reportedly already visited multiple American mosques, causing fear within religious spaces demarcated for sanctuary and peace. Pro-Zionist activists are threatening the removal of a tenured Professor. And on the streets, there is a growing number of hate crimes being levied against American Muslims, including school-aged children. Even our most powerful members of Congress are intimidating their fellow lawmakers for advocating against unjust war. (And an anti-Muslim perpetrator killed a 6-year old Palestinian boy in Illinois. Added 10/16/2023.)
Retaliation
Employers too are retaliating against employees for engaging in protected activity, in clear contravention of Title VII. For example, many American Muslims feel they have a religious obligation to speak out against genocide and desecration of holy lands, yet are being retaliated against for doing so. Non-Muslims are victims too. A prestigious law firm rescinded its offer to a non-binary law student of color for criticizing the state of Israel, and wealthy donors are “witch-hunt[ing]”, conducting surveillance of, and publicly doxxing undergraduate students. And a Federal Judge has promised not to hire such students.
Action
Now more than ever, we must lean into our shared spiritual values, as well as the principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and international law. To that end, AMBA recommends the following actions:
If you are part of a civil society organization, please ask your group to sign onto the statement here: bit.ly/ambapalsign by October 17. We will then take this statement, with organizational signatures, to lawmakers.
Use the hyper-linked and cited facts of this document to call, write, or email your U.S. Representatives and Senators, urging them not to sign-off on the supplemental aid package to Israel due to their escalation in genocide, and informing them of the censorship, intimidation, and retaliation of Americans. Do so easily with CAIR’s action tool.
Before attending a protest, know your legal rights explained by CUNY Clear.
Secure your legal rights against retaliation, by seeking representation from Palestine Legal.
If you have been arrested, questioned, or served a grand jury subpoena, call the National Lawyers’ Guild Federal Defense hotline at 212-679-2811.
Contact AMBA anytime at info@ambalegal.org.
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* Article 2 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines “genocide” as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
** Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions provides the absolute prohibition on starvation as a method of warfare, prohibiting combatants “to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs.” Rule 53 of the ICRC’s International Humanitarian Law Database prohibits starvation as a customary rule of international law. The deprivation of basic supplies necessary for the survival of the population, including food and clean water, may amount to a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) and to a crime against humanity under Articles 7(1)(b), 7(2)(b), and 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
*** The use of white phosphorus results in severe burns on humans and may affect the kidneys, liver, and lungs, as well as cardiovascular and central nervous systems. When used in densely populated areas of Gaza, the use of white phosphorus violates the requirement under international humanitarian law that parties to the conflict take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. It also highlights the need to reexamine the status and adequacy of Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons, currently the only international law dedicated to governing incendiary weapons.
**** United Nations Security Council Commission of Experts Report S/1994/674 defines “ethnic cleansing” as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
***** United Nations General Assembly Resolution 37/43 (1982) reaffirms the “inalienable right” of the Palestinian people “and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination” to self-determination. It also reaffirms the legitimacy of “the struggle of peoples for […] liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.”
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The following organizations signed onto this statement in mid-October 2023:
Afghan Network for Advocacy and Resources (ANAR)
American Arab Forum (AAF), American Muslim Community Foundation (AMCF)
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Apoyo Legal Migrante Asociadoc (ALMA)
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
Black Women Radicals (BWR)
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR: affiliates)
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR)
Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR)
Coalition for Civil Freedoms (CCF)
Foda Law Group LLC
Friends of Human Rights (FHR)
Health, Education, Advocacy, Research, and Training (HEART)
Hussain Collective
Islamic Education Center (IEC)
Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF)
Law Office of Sara B Kohgadai
Mesita de la Memoria
Mohammed, Shamaileh & Tabahi, LLC
Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD)
Muslim Bar Association (MBA: affiliates)
Muslim Counterpublics Lab (MCL)
Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition (MDAC)
Muslim Power Building Project (MPBP)
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Muslim Student Association (MSA)
Muslims for Just Futures (MJF)
National Lawyers Guild (NLG: National, affiliates)
Now or Never Movement
Palestine Legal
Pangea Legal Services
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA)
Qandeel Law Firm
Queer Crescent
Shia Muslim Council (SMC)
Speak Up Silent No More
Stand For Justice
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR)
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)