Gamble v. United States: Dual Sovereignty and Hate Crime
On Tuesday, June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court released its decision in Gamble v. United States, which involved a challenge to the “separate sovereigns” doctrine. According to Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause, people who are accused of a crime cannot be tried twice for the same crime. However, the Supreme Court has historically granted one exception. Under what is known...
2020 Candidate Watch
Earlier this week the New York Times published an online interactive feature in which they asked twenty-one participating 2020 Democratic candidates 18 different questions, including, "Do you think Israel meets international standards of human rights?" We were glad to see candidates asked about the issue of Palestinian human rights. Here's...
A Narrow Win Against Racial Gerrymandering: Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill
AAI staff and Spring 2019 interns participated in a rally at the Supreme Court on the day of oral arguments in the case. On June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed the case Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, in which the Virginia House of Delegates tried to appeal a lower court...
In 2020, for the first time ever, the US Census will allow for online responses. This will be accompanied by an increase in official Census Bureau advertisements, particularly online, including social media. However, Census officials are anticipating targeted campaigns on social media designed to spread disinformation about the decennial census,...
On Saturday, June 15th, the Arab American Institute and the Washington D.C chapter of the Network of Arab American Professionals (NAAP-DC) partnered to lead a service project for 15th annual National Arab American Service Day. Volunteers participated in a tree planting at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in northeast D.C with Casey Trees,...
Aziz Shares the Power of Words
Among the many lessons Nadia Aziz learned in law school, one continues to resonate: “If you’re going to write something, write it as if you are writing with a scalpel.” Aziz, who currently serves as the Co-Interim Director and Policy Council at the Stop Hate Project of the Lawyers’ Committee...
Lies, Damned Lies, and Disinformation
No discussion of the American political process today is complete without a mention of fake news, junk news, or – most broadly – disinformation. Disinformation is defined as false information that is spread with the intent for it to deceive or harm, often occurring alongside misinformation, which is false information...
Chicken and BDS in Texas
Last month, Texas passed a new anti-boycott law after the 2017 version was blocked from enforcement in federal court for its unconstitutional provisions. The Arab American Institute has seen this before: in March, we testified against a revamped anti-boycott bill in Arizona after a federal court blocked the original 2016...
Jacksonville Celebrates First Annual Arab Fest
If you made it out to the first Arab Fest in Jacksonville on Saturday, June 9th, then you know just how spectacular it was! This event, the first of its kind in Jacksonville hosted by the new chapter of the Arab American Community Center, was a truly beautiful representation of the...
On June 11, 2019 AAI co-sponsored a panel discussion called, "The Deal of the Century: What About Palestinian Citizens of Israel?" with the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) and the Mossawa Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for Arab citizens and residents of Israel. AAI Executive Director Maya...
