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Civil Rights Groups Launch Legal Aid Initiative for Parents of Victimized Jewish Students
A student holds a flag of Palestine during the demonstration. Students from Encinal High School and St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, united in a demonstration march to express solidarity with Palestine. Photo: Michael Ho Wai Lee via REUTERS CONNECT
Three leading civil rights nonprofits announced on Thursday a partnership for providing free legal assistance to parents of children attending California K-12 schools where antisemitism is reported to be pervasive and unchecked.
The initiative, titled Legal Protection K-12 Helpline, follows the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law’s and the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) filing a civil rights complaint alleging that the Berkeley United School District (BUSD) has refused to enforce anti-discrimination policies that would protect Jewish students from bullying and trauma in and out of the classroom.
“Frankly, school principals and administrators should themselves be cracking down on the surge in anti-Jewish bullying we are witnessing. This is what the law requires,” Brandeis Center founder and chairman Kenneth D. Marcus said on Thursday. “However, far too many are failing in their legal responsibilities and choosing to sweep escalating antisemitism under the rug. Our legal team stands by ready to step into this gap and demand the protections Jewish students are guaranteed under the law.”
Legal Protection K-12 Hotline will also be supported by StandWithUs, a nonprofit which promotes education about Israel and fair treatment of Jewish students on college campuses, and four law firms. In a press release, the groups said parents will be offered both legal counsel and referrals to other organizations that can be of help.
“Spikes in antisemitic incidents in K-12 schools, coupled with the failure of administrators to respond with meaningful corrective action, has created the need for a more unified and coordinated educational and legal response,” Carly Gammill, legal strategy director of StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice (SCLJ) said. “All students deserve an educational environment free from discrimination and harassment based on their protected identities. StandWithUs is proud to partner with this coalition to achieve this goal and further protect Jewish and other Zionist students.”
As The Algemeiner previously reported, a civil rights complaint filed last week alleges that antisemitism in the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) in California has caused severe psychological trauma to Jewish students as young as eight years old and fostered a hostile learning environment.
At several schools throughout BUSD, students were recruited to assist anti-Zionists teachers in cheering Hamas’ atrocities as “liberation.” They were called called on to join “walk outs” and rewarded with excused absences in return for their participation, another violation of district policy forbidding excused absences for all but the most important reasons. These demonstrations became salvos of antisemitic rhetoric. During one organized at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, students shouted “KKK,” “Kill Israel,” “Kill the Jews,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” In another incident, a second-grade teacher instructed her students to write “Stop bombing babies” on sticky notes.
“With reports of antisemitism in K-12 schools rising significantly since the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, we wanted to ensure that parents and students have a place to turn to for legal help when they need it,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. “If this pilot helpline is successful in California, ADL and our partners will look toward expanding it to other states where antisemitism in schools is surging.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Civil Rights Groups Launch Legal Aid Initiative for Parents of Victimized Jewish Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Showcases New, Advanced Missile Systems Amid US Threat
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 23, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp revealed their latest missile systems on Saturday, which have been deployed on three different Iranian islands.
This comes amid increased US pressure to return to the negotiation table over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with US President Donald Trump implementing a return to his “maximum pressure” policy.
Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the IRGC’s naval force, threatened that “the enemy would be beaten” in the event of a military confrontation. He boasted missile units, submarines, unmanned aircraft, and defense systems deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, located in the Persian Gulf, and in the islands in the region.
A new hangar was revealed in one of the sites that contains the new missile systems. According to the IRGC, these missiles have the ability to destroy maritime targets up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) from their deployment sites.
Last week, a US official told i24NEWS that Trump gave Khamenei a two-month ultimatum to reach a nuclear agreement. National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes threatened “devastating” results.
Therefore, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attacked Donald Trump in a speech he made, saying “I will not negotiate with you even under threats.” This, after a few days prior, Trump wrote a letter to Iran, asking to restart negotiations on the nuclear issue.
The post Iran Showcases New, Advanced Missile Systems Amid US Threat first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Houthis Falsely Claim to Successfully Hit Ben Gurion Airport, USS Harry Truman
Newly recruited fighters who joined a Houthi military force intended to be sent to fight in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 2, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Houthis claimed on Sunday that they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with their alleged hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile, with the strike “successfully achieving its goal.”
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree boasted that air traffic at the airport was suspended for more than half an hour.
Additionally, Saree claimed Houthi forces launched missiles and drones at the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea with missiles and drones. There is no indication that this attack succeeded, contrary to the Houthi statement.
At around 7:30 am, sirens blared throughout central Israel, with no injuries reported. The IDF said that a Houthi missile had been intercepted successfully outside of Israeli airspace.
This comes after the Houthis restarted their attacks on the Jewish state last week, triggering sirens in central Israel and the Jerusalem area.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command began an offensive against high-level Houthis and terrorist infrastructure in Yemen. US President Donald Trump has also stated that he will hold Iran responsible for any attack emanating from the Houthis.
The post Houthis Falsely Claim to Successfully Hit Ben Gurion Airport, USS Harry Truman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas: Senior Official Salah al-Bardawil Killed in Khan Yunis Strike
Senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil. Photo: File.
i24 News – Hamas confirmed on Sunday that Salah al-Bardawil, a member of its political bureau, had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
His wife also perished in the attack. This targeted killing, initially reported by the Palestinian press agency Shehab, affiliated with Hamas, is said to have targeted “tents sheltering displaced persons.” The Israeli authorities have not yet commented on the reports.
This strike is part of a series of targeted operations carried out by Israel against the Hamas leadership. Over the weekend, the Israeli army and Shin Bet security agency also announced that they had eliminated Osama Tabash, who was the chief of military intelligence for Hamas in southern Gaza and led the organization’s surveillance and targeting unit.
According to the joint statement from the army and Shin Bet, Tabash was a “high-ranking terrorist” who possessed “significant operational knowledge for the terrorist organization.” He had held various positions of importance, including that of battalion commander in the Khan Yunis brigade.
The Israeli services attribute to him involvement in several attacks, including a suicide bombing carried out in 2005 at the Gush Katif crossroads in Gaza, which cost the life of Oded Sharon. In his recent roles, Tabash was responsible for developing the Hamas combat strategy and had participated in planning infiltrations during the massacre on October 7 in the Israeli communities in the south of the country.
The post Hamas: Senior Official Salah al-Bardawil Killed in Khan Yunis Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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