Israel-Gaza: Does Islamophobia play a part in US foreign policy? [UpFront]

As the war in Gaza rages on, the death toll keeps increasing and residents face starvation. Despite the heavy civilian toll, the United States keeps voicing its strong support for Israel. Is there a double standard when it comes to Palestine? And why do some in the US seem to conflate solidarity with Palestinians with anti-Semitism, as explained in the report “Presumptively Antisemitic: Islamophobic Tropes in the Palestine Israel Discourse” published by the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights. On UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks… Continue reading “Israel-Gaza: Does Islamophobia play a part in US foreign policy? [UpFront]”

Why pro-Palestinian demonstrations are popping up on college campuses [Scripps]

“We’ve seen quite a bit of sympathy for Palestinian civilians,” said Sahar Aziz, a law school professor and director of the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers University. “They recognize that Palestinians have grievances. Many of these young people don’t rely on formal educational institutions for information. And this is one of those topics where they rely heavily on things that are on the internet and that are on social media.” Aziz also wrote the book “The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom.” Social media, combined with… Continue reading “Why pro-Palestinian demonstrations are popping up on college campuses [Scripps]”

Muslim women in the West in the crosshairs of Zionists, white ‘feminists’ [Al Jazeera]

At the forefront of numerous grassroots, intellectual, and political movements opposing Israel’s ongoing war crimes, in the United States and elsewhere in the staunchly pro-Israel West, are Muslim women. Courageous Palestinian, Arab, South Asian, and Black women are leading mass protests, political action campaigns, teach-ins at universities, fundraisers for humanitarian aid, and writing letters to university presidents, demanding they protect their Palestinian and Muslim students from doxing, harassment, and intimidation by Zionist organizations on and off campus.These Muslim women’s civic and political engagement is almost always met with attacks on… Continue reading “Muslim women in the West in the crosshairs of Zionists, white ‘feminists’ [Al Jazeera]”

Why Can’t We Humanize Palestinians? [#RaceClass]

The Israeli government responded to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 by indiscriminately bombing residential towers, denying water, food, fuel, electricity and medical supplies to over 2.3 million Palestinian civilians living under occupation in Gaza. Despite the practices constituting what many legal experts conclude are genocidal, the Israeli government has received the full support of President Biden and the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, the American media humanizes only Israeli civilian victims while failing to report on the lives of 11,000 Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military and missing… Continue reading “Why Can’t We Humanize Palestinians? [#RaceClass]”

Keynote on Race and Religion at the Intersection [Drexel Law]

Professor Sahar Aziz delivered the Center for Law, Policy and Social Action (CLPSA) keynote at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Professor Aziz examined the intersectional relationship between race and religion, namely as it pertains to Muslim identity and experiences of racialized religious discrimination and infringement upon religious freedom in the United States. Her highly acclaimed book featured in Time Magazine, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, informed the public lecture on October 23, 2023.… Continue reading “Keynote on Race and Religion at the Intersection [Drexel Law]”

Sure, the US cares about human rights — when it benefits us [The Hill]

President Biden’s red-carpet treatment of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is another nail in the coffin of U.S. human rights policy. Such willful blindness to India’s poor human rights record extends to the Middle East.  Indeed, human rights advocates have long criticized the U.S. government for its selective, politicized enforcement of human rights laws and policies in furtherance of one goal: to remain the sole “Great Power” in the Middle East and North Africa.  U.S. hegemony in the region has five main goals: first, to retain control over the distribution and… Continue reading “Sure, the US cares about human rights — when it benefits us [The Hill]”

Sahar Aziz Delivers Faculty Address to Rutgers Law Class of 2023

The Rutgers Law School (Newark) Class of 2023 selected Professor Sahar Aziz to deliver the faculty address at their commencement ceremony. She reminded graduates of the People’s Electric Law School to take seriously the weighty responsibility of lawyers as the guardians of our society’s democracy and the foundation on which justice stands. To hear her full remarks, click here or watch below.… Continue reading “Sahar Aziz Delivers Faculty Address to Rutgers Law Class of 2023”

Current US Engagements and Evolving US Priorities in the Region [Arab Center]

Professor Sahar Aziz contributed her expertise on Egypt-U.S. relations on a panel addressing current and future US priorities in the region and America’s bilateral relations with key players and policies in Gulf Arab states, Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Iran. The panel, Current U.S. Engagements and Evolving US Priorities inn the Region, discussed China and Russia’s roles in the region’s conflicts, the United States’ direct military involvement and its haphazard disengagement in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, as well as the US retreat on commitments to human rights and democracy. —… Continue reading “Current US Engagements and Evolving US Priorities in the Region [Arab Center]”

‘Systematically erased’: Middle Eastern and North African women and LGBTQ+ Americans don’t see themselves in U.S. data [the19th]

There is no exact definition of MENA by a group like the United Nations, but it generally includes countries as far north as Turkey that border the Mediterranean Sea. While many religions and ethnicities are represented in this region, shared Arab ancestry or Islamic identity is sometimes used as a way to group countries over strict geographic boundaries.  “But these are subjective lines that are gone, and they are certainly a result of colonial preferences,” said Sahar Aziz, professor of law at Rutgers University and author of “The Racial … Continue reading “‘Systematically erased’: Middle Eastern and North African women and LGBTQ+ Americans don’t see themselves in U.S. data [the19th]”