In a recent ruling, a federal judge declared that Northwestern University has the right to impose sanctions on students who refuse to participate in a compulsory anti-Semitism training.
These sanctions could include the withdrawal of financial aid, denial of access to on-campus housing, and even the revocation of student status.
The decision comes as a preliminary setback for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which had filed a lawsuit against Northwestern on behalf of the Graduate Workers for Palestine. The lawsuit alleges that the mandatory training infringes on federal civil rights law and suppresses "expressions of Palestinian identity."
The plaintiffs had sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the university from penalizing students who boycotted the training while the lawsuit was ongoing. However, Judge Georgia Alexakis dismissed this request, as reported by the student newspaper, the Daily Northwestern.
"Because the plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden in this threshold inquiry, we do not move on to conduct a balancing of the harms," Alexakis stated. "For that reason, I have to deny the motion."
The lawsuit by CAIR centers around a training video produced by the Jewish United Fund. The video juxtaposes quotes from Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke with those from anti-Israel activists, implying that "you cant tell the difference."
CAIR, a group with alleged ties to terrorism and pro-Hamas sentiments, contends that the video "equates critical engagement with Zionism with anti-Jewish statements by the Ku Klux Klan" and discriminates against "the University's Palestinian and other Arab students by branding their ethnic and religious identities, cultures, and advocacy for the rights of their national group as antisemitic and subject to discipline."
Northwestern University had set a deadline for students to complete the training, after which they would face escalating penalties, including the loss of financial aid, access to on-campus housing, and even the revocation of their student status, effectively expelling them from the university and requiring them to reapply.
According to the Daily Northwestern, Northwestern attorneys have identified 16 students who have not completed the training.
While dismissing CAIRs request for a temporary restraining order, Judge Alexakis expressed skepticism about the plaintiffs allegations that Northwestern discriminated against them based on race, essentially questioning the likelihood of their success in the lawsuit.
"I find that the plaintiffs have established irreparable harm, but I also find that the plaintiffs have failed to establish the likelihood of success on the merits of the claims that they advance," Alexakis said. She pointed out that students are not required to endorse the video to complete the training, or even watch itthey could simply let it play until the end.
In another part of the lawsuit, CAIR claims that the "training course is replete with political commentary which restricts Northwestern students from advocating for Palestinian liberation, equal rights, an end to apartheid in Palestine, and for the rights of Palestine's indigenous people (Jewish and non-Jewish)." The plaintiffs also characterized the spring 2024 Deering Meadow encampment as a venue for "nonviolent protest, display of signs, speeches, dancing, prayer and other overtly Jewish religious activities, and community building."
However, students passing by the illegal encampment reported enduring slurs like "dirty Jew" and "Zionist pig" from those inside, according to the Forward. Northwestern is also dealing with a separate lawsuit filed by a student who alleges that a protester accosted her friend with a sign while others jeered for her to "burn in hell" as they chased her from the encampment area.
The lawsuit by CAIR marks a significant shift in the relationship between the extremist organization and Northwestern. The university had previously faced criticism for collaborating with CAIR on an anti-discrimination training earlier this year.
The training used separate data sets to depict anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes. For anti-Semitic attacks, it relied on official FBI data, but for anti-Muslim attacks, it used unverified figures from CAIR without citing the source. Consequently, the training falsely suggested that there had been five times more attacks against Muslims than Jews.
Earlier this year, anti-Israel activists targeted Northwestern, defacing the building that houses the schools Holocaust center with phrases such as "Death to Israel," "Intifada Now," and Hamas triangles, according to The Washington Free Beacon. The campus Students for Justice in Palestine chapter also hosted an anarchist training session that included materials from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group, encouraging students to "build an Intifada" and "destroy amerika."
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