California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Photo: Edward H. Blake via Wikimedia Commons

A judge has denied a motion from the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a professor who alleges that she was disciplined and humiliated for disagreeing with students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As The Algemeiner has previously reported, professor Karen Fiss engaged in a brief conversation with anti-Zionist students who, due to being told a historical fact they preferred not to hear, filed a complaint against her with CCA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) office which alleged that she had engaged in “harassing and discriminatory” behavior. Her legal counsel, provided by the nonprofit Jewish civil rights organization the Deborah Project, maintain that Fiss merely challenged the students’ anti-Zionist notions and apprised them of a 1991 incident in which Kuwait expelled nearly 300,000 Palestinians from its borders.

The college ultimately found Fiss guilty of the charges lodged against her, ruling that she had  imposed her “power” on the students, who are women of color, and betrayed her cultural insensitivity by citing Kuwait’s expulsion of Palestinians in their conversation. The college further alleged that Fiss had used her “positional power as a professor to get the outcome [she] sought, which was for the students to agree with her point of view.” The college reached those findings but had previously declined to apply the same logic to an earlier complaint Fiss had filed about the Critical Ethnic Studies program’s issuing a statement — “DECOLONIZATION IS NOT A DINNER PARTY,” it said — which justified Hamas’s violence and implied that Jews are not indigenous to their own homeland.

That is because, the Deborah Project argues, CCA’s rules are in place to protect left-wing anti-Zionism and punish Jews who oppose it.

“According to CAA, academic freedom is an impenetrable bar to complaints about celebrating the slaughter and raping to death of Jews, but is made of Swiss cheese when a fully-tenured professor — Dr. Karen Fiss — explains to students some truths about the Middle East,” Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of the Deborah Project, said in a statement included in a press release on Wednesday.

With her reputation blighted by scandal and the college threatening to revoke her tenure, Fiss resolved to fight for both her right to exist as a proud Jew at work and her right to free speech. She sued CAA for discriminating against her for being Jewish, a violation of Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and breach of contract, offenses which caused her “substantial damages” and other trauma.

Deploying the weapons contained in its legal arsenal, the college attempted to muzzle Fiss even in court by filing a motion to dismiss her case entirely, and later, to strike from her own complaint the most damaging allegations regarding the university’s alleged conduct — including that the college enforces a double-standard free speech code which protects anti-Zionists “who publicly call for the murder of Jews in Israel.”

However, Judge Haywood William of the US District Court for the Northern District of California has now struck down the college’s challenge to the case, clearing the way for it to enter discovery, during which her attorneys will amass additional evidence in support of Fiss’s allegations.

In Wednesday’s press release, Fiss’s legal counsel praised the decision.

“The Deborah Project looks forward to the state of litigation that follows denials of motions to dismiss, which is called the discovery phase,” it said. “We will learn how a leading California arts college lost its way and instead of focusing on art, became most focused on ‘Critical Ethnic Studies’ — which is the largest department in this ‘art’ school. Critical Ethnic Studies, inter alia, demonizes Jews, which are cast oppressors, and the Jewish State, which is described as a colonizing, ethnic cleansing, genocidal, and illicit country.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Judge Tosses Challenge to Lawsuit Alleging Mistreatment of Jewish Professor at California College first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Families and supporters of the Israeli hostages gather to demand a deal that will bring back all the hostages held in Gaza, outside a meeting between hostage representatives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, January 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Supporters of the English Premier League soccer teams and north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur put aside their differences on Wednesday night at the north London derby to unite in solidarity with Emily Damari, a British-Israeli dual citizen and Tottenham fan who has been held hostage by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months.

Damari, 28, was kidnapped by Hamas-led terrorists from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023. Before the Tottenham vs Arsenal soccer match at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, fans of the two clubs gathered outside the stadium for a joint photograph in which they held up posters that had Damari’s name and picture and the message “Bring Them Home Now,” referring to the return of the 98 hostages still held captive in Gaza. The posters also featured an image of a yellow ribbon, which is a symbol that represents a call for the immediate return of all the hostages, and some in the joint photo held yellow balloons.

Videos shared on social media also show some Tottenham Hotspur fans releasing the yellow balloons inside the stadium during the match while chanting, “Emily Damari, she’s one of our own, she’s one of our own, Emily Damari, bring her home.” The match ended with Arsenal beating Tottenham 2-1.

The show of support for Damari displayed by Arsenal and Tottenham supporters was reportedly organized by Stop the Hate UK.

Damari’s mother, Mandy Damari, shared a photo on X of the soccer fans holding up posters with her daughter’s name and picture. “So grateful to all the Arsenal and Spurs fans supporting Emily tonight at the North London Derby,” Mandy captioned the photo. “I know that you don’t agree on very much, which makes it even more special that you have come together to say Bring Her Home. Thank you.”

So grateful to all the Arsenal and Spurs fans supporting Emily tonight at the North London Derby. I know that you don’t agree on very much, which makes it even more special that you have come together to say Bring Her Home. Thank you pic.twitter.com/KzJtqtFWDp

— Mandy Damari (@DamariMandy) January 15, 2025

As part of the ceasefire-hostage deal that Israel and Hamas reached this week, the terrorist organization is supposed to release 33 hostages over the next six weeks, and Emily is reportedly among them.

The post Arsenal, Tottenham Soccer Fans Unite in London to Support the Release of British-Israeli Hostage Emily Damari first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Supporters of the kidnapped Israeli hostages hold torches at a protest to demand a deal to bring every hostage home at once, amid Gaza ceasefire negotiations, in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israel’s leading hospitals are preparing to receive and treat the hostages who are set to be released from Hamas captivity as part of the ceasefire and hostage-release deal agreed upon on Wednesday between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization.

American Friends of Rabin Medical Center (AFRMC) said in an email on Thursday to supporters of the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva that doctors at several of the hospital’s departments and similarly those at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center, which is located on Rabin Medical Center Campus, are on “high alert for the hopefully imminent release of the captives.”

“While the country waits with bated breath for their release, Rabin Medical Center has all hands on deck to prepare for the highest quality of care and treatment for these Israeli hostages,” AFRMC said.

According to Israel’s Health Ministry, the hostages will be treated at Sheba Medical Center, Sourasky Medical Center, Rabin Medical Center (including the Schneider Children’s Medical Center), or Shamir Medical Center. Hostages who need immediate treatment in serious conditions may also be treated at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Health Ministry’s medical division, noted that it has not been decided yet which hospital will receive the hostages first and that the decision will be made based on a hostage’s conditions, according to Israel Hayom.

The Israel Defense Forces said “Wings of Freedom” is the name given to the Israeli military’s preparations for the return of the hostages as part of the new ceasefire agreement.

Concerns regarding the variety of serious conditions that the released hostages might have include infectious diseases, lack of nutrition, and physical injuries.

“Lack of adequate water, food, air, and sunlight for such an extended period of time will also greatly affect these hostages recovery,” AFRMC added. “Many elements of their state of health, both mental and physical, is still in question. The hospital is preparing for a wide range of wounds, injuries, and ailments, as well as the psychological and emotional impact of being held hostage for over 14 months.”

The Schneider Children’s Medical Center is one of the few hospitals in Israel that focuses on treating the physical and psychological injuries of children. The Rabin Medical Center has one of the only rehabilitation centers with a full-time specialized medical staff that is dedicated to treating victims of war. The hospital also has an emergency trauma fund accepting donations from the public that will help support trauma and psychological treatment for returning hostages; emergency orthopedic surgery equipment and supplies; trauma training for medical staff members; and rehabilitation equipment and supplies.

In November 2023, Israeli Health Ministry officials created guidelines for treating hostages returning home who were abducted by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists during the deadly massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That protocol has “since been further developed” after the initial group of released hostages were treated by the Rabin Medical Center, AFRMC said. The guidelines include a “timeline of hospitalization, re-introduction to society, family visits, and psychological care.”

A senior level social services manager at a central hospital in Israel, who has treated hostages previously released by Hamas since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, explained to Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth how this hostage release will be different than previous ones.

“We understand that we’re dealing with unprecedented challenges,” she said. “The hostages from the previous deal were held for a relatively short period, but this time we’re talking about people who have been in captivity for a year and three months. Their psychological and physical state is likely far more complex. It’s reasonable to assume they’ve endured greater despair, harsher conditions, and more severe impacts on their physical health.”

“We’re aware that they will likely be exposed to an overwhelming amount of information, and based on past experiences, we’ve learned that hostages often return with misinformation or under the influence of psychological warfare,” she added. “Therefore, we anticipate a process of reconnecting with reality but approach it gradually and in a way tailored to their needs.”

Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire-hostage exchange deal that is set to take effect on Sunday, according to senior officials who helped broker the agreement. During the first phase of the deal, Hamas will over six weeks release 33 of the 98 remaining hostages who have been help captive in the Gaza Strip for 15 months. In exchange, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinians prisoners, who were largely detained for involvement in terrorist activities.

Hamas is expected to free three hostages on the first day of the ceasefire and then another four on the seventh day. The US-designated terrorist organization will then make weekly releases and by the end of the phase, all living women, children, and older people held hostage in Gaza should be freed. The deal also includes the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip.

The post Israel’s Hospitals Prepare to Treat Hostages Being Released in Ceasefire Deal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.