Jafar Farah and Nabila Espanioly, co-founders of the Mossawa Center discuss the advocacy work and programs of the center. Their presentation highlights how Al Mossawwa Center develops programs to promote a democratic society, and acts against all forms of discrimination based on race, nationalism, religious affiliation, social status, gender, and disabilities.
Israel still portrays itself as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet in practice, as its Palestinian citizens can attest, it functions as a Jewish ethnocracy, leaving small margins of freedom for its Palestinian citizens that have been steadily shrinking in the past few years. Now the Israeli state has come under the complete control of the far right wing, which sees no need even for such limited margins of freedom. This is evident in the wave of discriminatory legislation and the use of the Emergency Regulations against established non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and movements such as the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.
As part of the manhunt for Nashat Milhem, the suspect in the deadly Tel Aviv shooting last week, a significant number of young Arab men and women are reporting police raids and searches of their apartments near Tel Aviv University and even in student dormitories.
By Zeina Azzam
Alarmingly, more and more Americans seem to be applauding Trump’s statements, which discriminate against and disparage Muslims. He flaunts his bigotry and racism freely, giving license to his supporters to do the same. The venom with which this presidential candidate has been imbuing the Republican Party is moving the national conversation about diversity, tolerance, and respect to the far right. Earlier, Trump also called for stepped-up surveillance of mosques, and he did not rule out the establishment of a database to track Muslims in the country.
By Zeina Azzam
Judging by the vitriolic reactions against Muslims—and especially Syrians—in U.S. society after the Paris bombings, it is clear that few understand that the vast majority of the casualties of ISIS’s bloody strikes are actually Muslims. The group has wreaked havoc in majority Muslim states for a number of years. But so many people in Europe and the United States seem not to understand that the Islamic State does not represent Muslims, and that Muslims are in fact terrified by and abhor the savage tactics of the group. They are trying desperately to escape the lands under ISIS control.
Through educational events, humanitarian support, and cultural preservation, the Jerusalem Fund is helping build the movement for Palestinian liberation.
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