Today, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that constitutes a direct assault on academic freedom, First Amendment rights, and advocacy for Palestinian human rights.
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Glance, unlock. Accessing your beloved electronic companion has never been easier as the key is now your unique face. Simple enough? Not so fast. The convenient technology of facial recognition has not made it into our daily lives without controversy, and with good reason.
The René Moawad Foundation honored Dr. James Zogby with an Outstanding Community Service Award during their 26th annual benefit gala held Oct. 26 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington D.C. under the motto “Giving Hope… Making a Difference.”
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Earlier this week, J Street held its annual conference in Washington. Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry spoke on a panel called “Fighting Anti-Semitism and its Weaponization in American Politics,” moderated by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.
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Iraq reels from news reports that a masked gunmen fired upon protesters in Karbala earlier today, killing 18 people. The event caps off a dark month of October in country, over 16 years since the U.S. invasion. In total, at least 240 people have been killed and at least a staggering 8,000 people have been injured in widespread protests which have been met by an authoritarian response of violence and repression.
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Last week, over 1,100 people convened in Detroit to work towards realizing the “New American Dreams” of immigrants and refugees. Almost 200 speakers, including the Arab American Institute’s Suher Adi, spoke at the National Partnership for New Americans’ 12th National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC).
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“A revolution within the constitutional legitimacy,” that’s how Kais Saied, the 61-year old newly elected president of Tunisia described his landslide victory, having secured more than 73 percent of the votes.
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The Arab American Institute is pleased to submit this statement for the record of today’s hearing. We support the subcommittee in its intentions to examine the federal government’s efforts to address the threat of white supremacist violence in the United States. This statement focuses on the federal government’s data collection practices relating to white supremacist violence, including acts that meet the definition of hate crime, domestic terrorism, or both. While today’s hearing evaluates the data collection practices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), this statement widens the aperture to consider potential sources of data from other components of the federal government, namely the National Security Division within the Department of Justice.
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On September 13, 2019, AAIF hosted a congressional briefing sponsored by Representative Betty McCollum’s office, entitled, Tunisia at a Crossroads: Balancing Political Stability and Economic Prosperity. The briefing was an opportunity to discuss the latest political developments in Tunisia in the aftermath of the passing of President Caid-Essebi, the upcoming presidential elections and their potential repercussions on the stability of the country.
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Named after two hate crime victims whose murders were prosecuted as hate crimes but not reported in hate crime statistics, the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act would promote more accurate hate crime data collection and assist hate crime victims and their communities.
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Across the country young people and their families are preparing to go back to school. As the 2019-2020 academic year gets underway, AAI wants to be sure that families are ready to respond to any incidents of bigotry, discrimination or First Amendment violations related to their child’s education.
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The Arab American Institute is pleased to submit this statement for the record of today’s hearing. We support the subcommittee in its intentions to examine the federal government’s efforts to address the threat of white supremacist violence in the United States. This statement focuses on the federal government’s data collection practices relating to white supremacist violence, including acts that meet the definition of hate crime, domestic terrorism, or both. While today’s hearing evaluates the data collection practices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), this statement widens the aperture to consider potential sources of data from other components of the federal government, namely the National Security Division within the Department of Justice.
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NO BAN Act (2019)
The National Origin-Based Anti-Discrimination for Nonimmigrants Act.
The National Origin-Based Anti discrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (“NO BAN Act”) is a historic civil rights bill that would prevent faith- based discrimination in immigration as well as end Muslim Ban, the Refugee Ban, and the Asylum Ban.
Read MoreSubmitted to the House Judiciary Committee Hearing on “Hate Crimes and the Rise of White Nationalism”
The Arab American Institute is pleased to submit this statement for the record in support of continued examination of hate crime in American communities and related policy or legislative initiatives, such as federal efforts that would promote improved data collection of reported incidents under the Hate Crime Statistics Act.1 As indicated in the opening remarks of Chairman Nadler and Ranking Member Collins, preventing both the incidence of hate crime and white supremacist or white nationalist violence is a bipartisan concern.
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, ET AL., Petitioners, v. NEW YORK, ET AL
Brief for the Arab American Institute as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents
The Arab American Institute (“AAI”) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan national leadership organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. It represents the policy and community interests of Arab Americans across the United States, and was created to nurture and encourage the direct participation of Arab Americans in political and civic life. In particular, AAI serves as a central resource for government officials, the media, political leaders, and community groups on a variety of public policy issues that concern Arab Americans and U.S.–Arab relations.
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The Arab American Institute Foundation (AAIF) led a delegation of 10 Arab American elected officials and policy practitioners on an experiential learning trip to Tunisia between March 7 and 18th, 2019.
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On Friday, March 29, 2019, the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held a public briefing seeking to examine hate crimes in the state. AAI Policy Analyst Kai Wiggins provided written and oral testimony to the Committee.
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In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracked “Anti-Trump” protests in New York City last summer.
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Whether it is professors being targeted for their support of or work on Palestine, k-12 teachers getting attacked for their use of the Arab World Studies Notebook, or student government association representatives getting harassed for passing pro-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolutions, Palestine is one of the most contentious topics in the current US educational climate.
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On the morning of Tuesday, March 26, AAI staff joined coalition partners for a rally ahead of the Supreme Court's hearing of two cases that relate to gerrymandering.
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