Bittar is an artist, educator, writer and California organizer for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. She lives in North Park. Erikat is a Palestinian Muslim American organizer who was born and raised in San Diego.
The misplaced charge of “antisemitism” is used throughout the United States when criticizing Israeli human rights violations. Recent lawsuits filed against Palestinian Americans by pro-Zionist groups aim to normalize silencing the Palestinian narrative. As a result, legal organizations like Palestine Legal, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee or ADC and the Council on American Islamic Relations or CAIR have been defending Palestinian Americans and allies on school boards and in public offices, organizations and universities. Fearmongering, defamation and bullying are tactics used to silence the 75-year-long Palestinian struggle for human rights, derailing efforts to educate about real antisemitism, which like all hate crimes, is on the rise.
Palestine Legal, a defender of free expression of the Palestinian struggle primarily at universities, responded to more than 2,200 incidents of suppression of Palestinian people between 2014 and 2022, which take the form of “increasingly aggressive disciplinary proceedings, censorship, and condemnations from s — as well as in the workplace and on social media.” There were 214 last year alone. Palestine Legal logged 24 state and federal legislative measures in 2022 “aimed at silencing, condemning, or punishing advocacy for Palestinian rights.” In recent years, several cases have been decided in favor of Palestinian Americans by Palestine Legal, CAIR and ADC.
In two high-profile incidents, CAIR defended Mohamed Khairullah, the Muslim Palestinian mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey, after he was excluded from an Eid celebration at the White House in May without an explanation or apology, and the ADC defended U.S. citizen Noor Wazwaz after she was denied boarding an El Al Israel flight in July. Due to Wazwaz’s Palestinian and Muslim background, she faced discrimination and harassment from Israeli El Al Airlines agents in Ben Gurion and at Newark Liberty International Airport. A complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, calling for an immediate investigation into the airline’s discrimination of engers based on race, religion and national origin.
Also in May, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit brought by the Jewish National Fund against the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. The court ruled that “advocating and coordinating a boycott of Israel … is not unlawful,” and the Palestinian rights organization noted, “This lawsuit was meant to silence us, so let’s raise our voices loud.” Such cases clog our judiciary and infer an absurd agenda, one requiring Americans to give allegiance to Israel above their inherent constitutional rights, including freedom of speech.
Palestinian American student Ahmad Daraldik filed his complaint of discrimination in April 2021, using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and forcing the Department of Education at Florida State University to investigate it as anti-Palestinian discrimination. Orange County activist Suhair Nafal was exonerated in another case two years ago when a judge ruled in her favor and against a former Israeli soldier, who had to pay Nafal’s legal fees.
The conflation of antisemitism with anti-Zionism is opposed, not only by Palestinians, but also by anti-Zionist Jews who are combating antisemitism, such as those with Bend the Arc and Jewish Voice for Peace.
San Diego County has seen groundless antisemitism accusations. During the May 16 meeting of San Diego County’s Leon H. Williams Human Relations Commission, 77-year-old Commissioner George Majeed Khoury shared his personal Palestinian journey when recounting al-Nakba or “the catastrophe” of 1948, now in its 75th year, when over 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed and depopulated and more than 800,000 Palestinians forcibly expelled from their homes to create the state of Israel. Today, the Nakba’s exiles continue, as corroborated by Israeli and Palestinian scholars.
Commissioner Khoury, a two-time survivor of ethnic cleansing, recalled his family’s displacement from West Jerusalem to East Jerusalem in 1948 and his definitive removal from Palestine in 1967 when studying at the American University of Beirut. Five decades ed before he returned as an American tourist. After his remarks, Commissioner Khoury was accused of “divisive rhetoric … perceived as antisemitic” and of “hate speech” that could incite antisemitism.
San Diego’s Palestinian and Arab American community view George Majeed Khoury as a leader, an elder ing our heritage and history to younger generations. As a Nakba survivor, his story and courage remind us of Palestinian steadfastness, or sumud in Arabic. Commissioner Khoury’s sharing of his Nakba experience should have been met with empathy.
Ultimately, the commission tabled indefinitely the concept of removing Khoury in a near unanimous vote on July 18. While we thank the commissioners for affirming George Majeed Khoury’s seat on the commission, it should not be easy to silence Palestinian American viewpoints. Palestinian Americans have much to teach us, not only in sharing their personal and generational histories, but in helping us affirm the kind of country we want to be — one free to ask difficult questions and foster nurtured debate toward enlightenment.
Do we pick and choose some survivors to amplify their stories while suppressing others because of their inconvenient ethnicity? Palestinian Americans are targeted by people whose threats create fear for those challenging myths about Israel’s origins and ongoing ethnic cleansing.
Being called antisemitic without merit, when Palestinians are also Semites, and when real antisemitism exists, diverts us all from fighting hatred where it grows. It warns us that freedom of speech cannot be taken for granted. Will recent victories for enlightened expressions render this tactic ineffective? We expect challenges to continue and perhaps be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
In May, Commissioner Khoury quoted Israeli Prime Minister Ben Gurion’s often-cited prediction about Palestinians: “The old will die, and the young will forget.” In spite of attacks on free speech, Palestinians , and will continue to share their ancestral and individual stories to call for liberation and justice for all, regardless of race, religion and ethnicity.
The San Diego Palestinian community stands with Commissioner George Majeed Khoury and with Palestinians throughout the United States and thousands of miles away struggling against all odds and conditions for their rights to life and dignity.
Will Americans allow a clouding of understanding and conversation? Let’s at least remove fear so wrong questions or wrong comments are unpacked and educated about. Let our answers allow the breadth and reach of our intelligence to be constructive, expansive and engaged. Acknowledgment and discussion are the core in the creation of safe spaces designed for everyone.
