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The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) stressed that “university professors should never put their hands on students” in a statement posted on social media condemning the events that occurred on April 10, when a University of Berkeley law student was assaulted by her professor at a private dinner while protesting against the genocide in Gaza.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at the home of the dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of California Berkeley, Erwin Chemerinsky, and Professor Catherine Fisk.
Dean Chemerinsky and Professor Fisk invited law students to a private dinner at their home, where one guest spoke out against the genocide in Palestine and the dean’s complicity, an action the NLG called “courageous.”
In the video circulating on social media, Palestinian Muslim student Malak Afaneh from Berkeley Law School can be seen being physically assaulted by Professor Catherine Fisk, preventing her from continuing her speech against the genocide in Gaza.
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns the incident on April 10, 2024, at University of California Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Catherine Fisk's home.
Read our statement in the images 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/JOuRaGA1nA
—National Lawyers Guild (@NLGnews) April 11, 2024
“We saw videos of Professor Fisk using physical force against the law student by grabbing her by the neck and clothing, including the scarf she was wearing. Physical force in response to the exercise of the right to dissent through speech is never acceptable, and is especially egregious when condoned by a renowned legal scholar and educator,” the NLG said in a statement.
The organization said the student asserted her right to freedom of expression under the First Amendment.
“The NLG expresses its full support for this courageous law student who asserted her right to free speech by choosing to speak truth to power at a school-sanctioned event,” it said.
In this regard, the NLG made it clear that it “stands firmly against genocide in Palestine and supports the right of students to protest.”
And, he said, a person's First Amendment rights can extend beyond traditional public forums to spaces that are limited or nonpublic forums. He further explained that suppression of speech by government agents in such spaces can violate the rights of the speaker.
“The biggest victims of the suppression of free speech today on American campuses and in workplaces across the country are those who refuse to be complicit in genocide and stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine, not those who support their oppressors,” he said.
For his part, the dean and professor of the Berkeley Law School, Erwin Chemerinsky, wrote a statement in which he noted that last week, “there was a horrible poster, on social media and on the notice boards in the law school building, of a cartoon of me holding a bloody knife and fork, with the words in large letters: “Do not dine with Zionist Chem while Gaza is starving.”
“I never thought I would see such blatant anti-Semitism, with an image invoking the horrific anti-Semitic trope of blood libel and attacking me for no apparent reason other than that I am Jewish. While many complained to me about the posters and how they deeply offended them, I felt that, while deeply offensive, they were protected speech under the First Amendment. But I was upset that members of our community had to see this disturbing, anti-Semitic poster at the law school.”
She said the students behind the poster had student government leaders tell her that if the dinners were not cancelled, they would protest against them.
“I was saddened to hear this, but I made it clear that we would not be intimidated and that the dinners would continue for those who wanted to attend. I said that I assumed any protests would not be disruptive.”
The dean said that on April 9, about 60 students came to his house for dinner, all having registered in advance.
“Everyone came into our backyard and sat at tables to dine. While the guests were eating, a woman stood up with a microphone, stood on the highest step of the yard and began a speech, including about the plight of the Palestinians. My wife and I immediately approached her and asked her to stop and leave. The woman continued. When she continued, there was an attempt to take the microphone away from her. We repeatedly told her that you are a guest in our house, please stop and leave. About 10 students were clearly with her and eventually they left as a group,” he said.
“I have spent my career staunchly defending freedom of expression. I have spent my years as dean striving to create a warm and inclusive community. I am deeply saddened by these events and take comfort that only a small number of our students would behave in such a clearly inappropriate manner,” he concluded.
The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation's largest Islamic civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the alleged assault of student Malak Afaneh.
“Fisk’s attack was symbolic of the deeper Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and religious discrimination prevalent within the UC administration. I was attacked not only for speaking out about Palestine but also because I was a Muslim woman who dared to wear a hijab and keffiyeh and speak in my native language, Arabic, equating my identity with something to be feared and someone who deserved to be silenced,” Afaneh said.
According to CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo, UC Berkeley students have reported being attacked and harassed for their advocacy on behalf of Palestine for many months, not only by their peers but also by faculty and administrators.
“Unfortunately, Dean Chemerinsky has for too long perpetuated an atmosphere of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism,” he said.
She added that “it is disturbing to see her and Professor Fisk’s violent response to a student speaking out against the Israeli genocide in Palestine. It is reprehensible that UC Berkeley claims to defend freedom of expression while its leaders engage in such deplorable acts of physical censorship.”
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State Library.
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