Check out the latest updates from MPAC's Policy Bureau

Issue 17: June 8, 2024

A monthly spotlight on major developments from MPAC’s Policy Bureau

May in DC – Assessing the Allegiances of Our Public Officials ([link removed]) , U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opens investigation into UCLA following MPAC complaint ([link removed]) , MPAC Holds Meetings with Local Officials to Demand Accountability and Protection of Pro-Palestinian Student Protestors ([link removed]) , Testing the Department of Justice on Pro-Palestinian Civil Rights ([link removed]) , The 76th Commemoration of the Ongoing Nakba ([link removed]) , MPAC Welcomes U.N. Move to Establish
International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide ([link removed]) , Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of large pro-Palestinian gathering ([link removed]) , UCLA is Complicit: Al-Talib and MPAC Joint Condemnation of Zionist Encampment Violence ([link removed]) , Unity Project hosts Salam Al-Marayati for discussion on student protests and Israeli-Palestinian conflict ([link removed]) , Candid Conversations: 2024 Presidential Election ([link removed])

2024 National American Muslim Policy Conference

As we approach the 2024 elections, it is crucial to set policy priorities that align with the needs of American Muslims. Our community’s voices must be heard and represented in the policymaking process. Through a joint initiative by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP), Emgage Action, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), and Muslim Civic Coalition held the 2024 National American Muslim Policy Conference on June 5th in Washington, D.C.

The confere nce brought together policymakers, community leaders, and subject matter experts to address the pressing policy priorities and challenges facing American Muslim communities. The collective insights and collaborative spirit demonstrated during the event have laid the groundwork for impactful policy advocacy and community empowerment.

The panel discussions covered critical topics, including:
* U.S. Foreign Policy and Human Rights: A Call for Consistency
* Islamophobia and Protecting Our Communities During a Time of Polarization
* The Muslim Vote, Elections 2024: What is at Stake?
* Mental Health, Humanitarian, and Healthcare Crisis

The discussions focused on the importance of informed participation in the upcoming 2024 elections, emphasizing the critical role of the Muslim vote in shaping our nation’s future.

Stay turned for the full videos of the panels!

Assessing the Allegiances of Our Public Officials ([link removed])
MPAC calls for the immediate revocation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to address a joint session of the US Congress. If Congress fails to act, we call on the American people to voice their opposition to this invitation. Our elected officials must abstain from attending the address, signaling their commitment to their constituents’ demands and supposed support for democratic values and justice.

This invitation is deeply disturbing given Israel’s attacks on Gaza that have resulted in the death of over 35,000 Palestinians, 75 percent of which are children, women, and elderly.

Read our full statement here ([link removed]) .

U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opens investigation into UCLA following MPAC complaint ([link removed])
On May 3, MPAC took action by sending a letter to the Education Secretary Cardona and Assistant Secretary Lhamon at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (ED), calling for an investigation into the alarming attacks on pro-Palestinian student protestors at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) by external pro-Zionist agitators. Following this, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights initiated an official investigation into the incident under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Read our full statement here ([link removed]) .

MPAC Holds Meetings with Local Officials to Demand Accountability and Protection of Pro-Palestinian Student Protestors ([link removed])
MPAC convened crucial meetings following the violent attacks by external pro-Israeli agitators upon pro-Palestinian student protestors at the UCLA Solidarity Encampment.

We met with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, LAPD Assistant Chief Chow, and Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto in our Los Angeles headquarters. The objective of this meeting was to demand accountability and seek answers regarding the failure of law enforcement to respond adequately to the unprovoked assault on UCLA anti-genocide protestors. We called for an investigation into the felony acts that were committed against protestors by pro-Israel agitators and called for the City Attorney to drop all charges against the pro-Palestinian students.

Read our full statement here ([link removed]) .

Testing the Department of Justice on Pro-Palestinian Civil Rights ([link removed])
In a discussion coordinated by the Arab American Institute, MPAC met with Attorney General Merrick Garland and senior officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to address the concerning rise in hate crimes against communities who simply support the rights of Palestinians undergoing genocide in Gaza and Israeli settlement expansions in the West Bank.

MPAC’s goal was to express concern regarding the current suppression of student voices, the failure of law enforcement to intervene during attacks by pro-Zionist agitators at UCLA, the continued alarming acts of abuse and harassment faced by pro-Palestinian student protestors, and the discriminatory national security policies that continue to target the Muslim and Arab communities.

Read our full statement here ([link removed]) .

The 76th Commemoration of the Ongoing Nakba ([link removed])

May 15 marked the 76th anniversary of the ongoing Nakba. The Nakba holds profound significance in the history of the Palestinian people, symbolizing the loss of their homeland and the ongoing struggle for self-determination. This anniversary comes against the backdrop of mass student mobilizations across the country to stop the genocide in Gaza. In recent months we have seen our communities and youth stand up for the cause of justice, and now, more than ever, we must join them in commemoration of the Nakba and the movement for Palestinian freedom.

Read our article on what you should know about the Nakba here ([link removed]) .

MPAC Welcomes U.N. Move to Establish International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide ([link removed])

MPAC upholds and honors the United Nations General Assembly vote today to establish an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, despite furious opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia.

The establishment of an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide by the UN General Assembly is a significant step towards acknowledging and honoring the victims of this tragic event, where over 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were slaughtered by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica. The resolution, proposed by Germany and Rwanda, countries tragically linked to genocide, emphasizes the importance of remembering and learning from such dark chapters in history, as well as the necessity to speak up and intervene to prevent human rights violations.

Read our full statement here. ([link removed])

MPAC Calls for Senators Durbin, Sanders to Investigate Hijab Removal by Police at ASU ([link removed])

On April 29, distressing video footage surfaced of Arizona State University (ASU) police officers forcibly removing the hijab of a Muslim woman who was arrested at a pro-Palestinian rally on the university’s campus as she was being arrested for protesting President Biden's support of Israel during their ongoing genocide in Gaza. The victim was one of four women protestors subjected to such egregious treatment that evening.

Our students deserve to thrive in a just society, one where they can freely express their opinions and protest against administrative policies they fervently oppose without the constant fear of having their fundamental civil rights stripped away. To address this abuse inflicted by Arizona law enforcement, MPAC issued a letter to Senator Durbin and Senator Sanders urging both to immediately holding a hearing to investigate what happened to the four women.

Read the full letter here ([link removed]) .


** In the Media
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Associated Press
Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of large pro-Palestinian gathering ([link removed])
[link removed]

“The community needs to feel the police are protecting them, not enabling others to harm them.”
- Rebecca Husaini, MPAC Chief of Staff

Law enforcement on the UCLA campus donned riot gear as they ordered the dispersal of over a thousand people who had gathered in support of a pro-Palestinian student encampment. Several students who spoke during the news conference in the days that followed said they had to rely on each other, not the police, for support as they were attacked, and that many in the pro-Palestinian encampment remained peaceful and did not engage with counter-protesters.

Read the full article here ([link removed]) .

UCLA Al-Talib Magazine
UCLA is Complicit: Al-Talib and MPAC Joint Condemnation of Zionist Encampment Violence ([link removed])

What happened this night was nothing short of a travesty.

On April 30, a group of pro-Israeli agitators arrived on UCLA campus and violently attacked student protestors demonstrating at the Dickson Court Solidarity Encampment spearheaded by Students for Justice in Palestine. The assailants were seen covering their faces with white masks to conceal their identities as they used pepper spray, tear gas, bear mace, fireworks, and bludgeons to afflict burns, cuts, and other severe injuries.

Make no mistake about this: the Zionist demonstrators came with the clear and express purpose of enacting physical and emotional harm on students speaking out against UCLA’s ongoing complicity regarding the current genocide in Gaza.

Read the full article here ([link removed]) .


** In Case You Missed It:
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Unity Project hosts Salam Al-Marayati for discussion on student protests and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ([link removed])

[link removed] President Salam Al-Marayati visited Vanderbilt University for a fireside chat with Samar Ali, co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy. They explored the experiences of Muslim and Arab communities in America, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza in a timely and insightful conversation.

When answering a question about his experience growing up as a college student in the 1980s during the anti-apartheid movement, Al-Marayati said the conflict taught him that college campuses are the “perfect place” for discourse around global issues.

“I hope that Vanderbilt can be one of those places where we have that idea of reinvigoration of these ideals. And I believe that American Muslims can be an integral part of that process...”

Watch the full conversation here ([link removed]) .

Candid Conversations: 2024 Presidential Election ([link removed])

With the 2024 election year underway, it is important that we remember that our votes and our voices matter. We’ve invited all of the 2024 Presidential candidates for a discussion to get a better understanding of their views and positions. Together, we can make sure that we each have the knowledge to make informed choices at the ballot box this year.

[link removed]

In our latest conversation, MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati met with Dr. Jill Stein ([link removed]) , physician, environmental activist, and 2024 Green Party presidential candidate. Dr. Stein called out the U.S. for their negligence in upholding the democratic values of our nation and our trajectory towards a militarized police state that ignores the concerns of the people. We also discussed the distrust in mainstream media regarding the coverage of Palestine, the influence of AIPAC on our current political landscape, the crucial need for livable wages alongside affordable housing, and much more.

Catch up with all videos here ([link removed]) .

NOTE:
This is for educational purposes only and not an endorsement. We’ve invited all candidates to get a better understanding of their views and positions and will issue each recording as they are completed.

Stay tuned for more Candid Conversations!

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