California College sued for anti-Semitic behavior re: Jewish prof's conversation on Israel-Hamas war

A Jewish professor, Karen Fiss, is suing the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, alleging that her rights were violated when she was punished for disagreeing with students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to court documents shared with The Algemeiner by the Deborah Project, a legal nonprofit that defends the civil rights of Jewish educators, Fiss's troubles started on October 23, 2023. She engaged in a discussion with members of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group who had set up an anti-Zionist/anti-Semitic display. They asked for her support in campaigning for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Fiss looked over their materials, which included a sign with the slogan "From the river to the sea," and asked questions about what it meant and what news sources they were using. This led to a student, offended and 'unsafe,' by Fiss's questioning, removing the sign suggesting the genocide of Israeli Jews, and arguing that reports of Hamas's actions on October 7, 2023, were false.

The situation escalated when one student, Maryiam Alwael, claimed that her understanding of the conflict was superior due to her Kuwaiti background. Fiss responded by asking if Alwael knew about Kuwait's expulsion of Palestinians in 1991. Fiss advocated for a more nuanced view of the conflict, suggesting not all Middle Easterners oppose Israel and many are against Hamas and its supporters like Iran.

Fiss advised the students to avoid echo chambers, but Alwael preferred her own low information views. Although the conversation was civil, the students claimed that she felt attacked and filed a complaint against Fiss, accusing her of harassment and discrimination, because when they jihadis aren't killing you, they are claiming victimhood.

With minimal due process, Fiss was deemed guilty and required to undergo "diversity, equity, and inclusion" training, which as anyone with a working brain knows, is bull pucks. The college's rationale was that Fiss, not the Jew-hating Islamist, was culturally insensitive and used her "power" as a professor to influence students' views.

However, when Fiss had previously complained about a statement from the Critical Ethnic Studies program that seemed to justify Hamas's violence, her concerns were hypocritically dismissed as free speech.

The Deborah Project claims CCA's policies favor left-wing anti-Zionism while punishing Jews who oppose it. They argue that Fiss has been severely discriminated against for not aligning with the college's ideological stance on Israel.

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of the Deborah Project, pointed out the irony that Fiss's expression of discomfort with support for Hamas's actions was overlooked as free speech, yet her own speech was labeled harassment.

Fiss is now fighting back against what she sees as an attack on her Jewish identity and her right to free speech, suing CCA for discrimination under Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and for breach of contract, claiming these actions have caused her significant harm.

Tweet