Tag Archives: Arab

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Israel News | Ethnic & Religious Minorities

Israeli parliament passes law formally establishing country as Jewish nation-state
  • The new basic law codifies a number of ultranationalist principles, including Hebrew as the sole national language, the expansion of Jewish settlement as a national priority, Jewish symbols as national symbols, and a unified Jerusalem as the nation’s capital.
  • Previously, Israel existed formally as a multiethnic democratic state, with Arabic as the second national language and the concerns of Arab Israelis—who comprise a fifth of the population—at least nominally afforded equal weight in matters of national identity and self-determination.
  • While some observers have dismissed the law as largely symbolic, Arab lawmakers and progressive advocates argue it provides the legal ground for segregation and discrimination and reduces ethnic and religious minorities to a second-class citizenship.
Read

“Israel Passes Controversial Jewish Nation-state Bill After Stormy Debate” (Haaretz | July 2018)

“Israeli Law Declares the Country the ‘Nation-State of the Jewish People’” (The New York Times | July 2018)

“Israel passes controversial ‘Jewish nation-state’ law” (Al Jazeera | July 2018)

Gender, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

France News | Muslim Men

French hospital dismisses Egyptian trainee doctor from program for beard
  • The administrative court of appeals ruled in favor of the hospital after the surgery trainee sued as the result of termination by hospital managers at a Saint-Denis hospital for failing to trim his beard.
  • The trainee’s lawyer argued that the termination was discriminatory as a similarly long beard worn by someone who wasn’t Egyptian and named “Mohamed” would likely not have been asked to prove it was not of religious orientation.
  • French law dictates that religious expression is forbidden in state institutions like public hospitals, including personal symbolic displays that could be construed as religiously motivated.
Read

“Un médecin renvoyé pour une barbe trop longue, la justice donne raison à l’hôpital” (Agence France-Presse, via Libération | December 2017 – in French)

“‘C’est une décision complètement discriminatoire’ : un médecin stagiaire renvoyé à cause d’une barbe trop longue” (franceinfo | December 2017 – in French)

“French hospital rejects trainee doctor due to ‘religious’ beard” (The Telegraph | January 2018)

 

Race + Color + Ethnicity

France News | People of Color

Discussions of systemic racism in France provoke backlash
  • Recent rows in French government and civil society have pitted anti-racism activists against government officials over discussions of the state and other political institutions’ role in propagating racial inequality.
  • Journalist Rokhaya Diallo was removed from France’s national digital council only a week after her appointment following a campaign by right-wing activists and officials that targeted her for, among other things, her discussions of “institutional racism.”
  • The same use of the term by the teachers union SUD-Education 93 led Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer to indicate he will pursue complaints against the organization as well as for having hosted workshops reserved for people of color.
Read

“French race row erupts as feminist forced off advisory body” (The Guardian | December 2017)

“Blanquer porte plainte contre un syndicat qui a utilisé l’expression «racisme d’Etat»” (Le Monde | November 2017, in French)

“Les ateliers « en non-mixité raciale » du syndicat SUD-Education 93 créent une polémique” (Le Monde | November 2017, in French)

Additional

“When will France admit that police racism is systemic?” (The Guardian | March 2017)

 

Gender, Health + Ability, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief, Sexual + Gender Minorities

ClimateWatch: U.S.

ClimateWatch
The U.S. in the Era of Trump


Source: euronews YouTube

The conclusion of an election that saw an historic clash over the values of diversity, inclusion, and the meaning of “America” has brought with it a surge in uncertainty for minority and other historically disadvantaged communities in the U.S. The damage was extensive: the nearly year and a half of campaigning saw ethnic and religious minorities disparaged, immigrants targeted, women (including his opponent) subjected to misogynistic abuse, the mainstream press caught in the crosshairs of an anti-media campaign, and rhetorical and symbolic resonances in speeches and advertising that drew white supremacists and other far-right extremists out of the woodwork.

In what ways has Trump’s election reshaped the social and political climate for vulnerable American populations, including women, Latinos, black people, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities? How is the post-election retreat from data showing racial resentment as the highest predictor of Trump support endangering reality-based solutions for vulnerable communities, politicians, and analysts? And how has his rise to power connected to and amplified similar right-wing, ethno-nationalist politics globally?

Whether and how American conservatives and the Republican Party—now set to hold power in all three branches of government—are able to manage a resurgent coalition of ethno-nationalist voters as well as the capacity for progressive and Democratic activists to create social, political, and legal structures to protect vulnerable communities will determine what life in Trump’s America will look like for the at-risk. This ClimateWatch rounds up a number of key news items, analyses, and commentaries providing insight on what has happened and what could be on the horizon. Continue reading ClimateWatch: U.S. →

Class + Socioeconomics, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Citations: Black in North Africa

Citations
Black in North Africa

Like the color it purports to name, the social label black absorbs, integrates, and obscures distinct but interrelated phenomena: a skin tone of context-dependent shade, a racial classification from bygone times, an ethnic designation, a class marker, an immigration status, an ancestry, a cultural heritage, and an index of historical wrongs still fresh in memory. Black has often served as shorthand for of African descent, but perhaps nowhere most complicates that substitution than a region on the continent itself: North Africa. Continue reading Citations: Black in North Africa →

Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel News | Arab-Israelis & Dissenters

Law to suspend legislators accused of terrorist sympathies passes first round in Israeli parliament
  • Arab-Israeli and other opposition lawmakers fear the law will be used to silence opposition to anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian measures in the Israeli parliament.
  • Tabled for two additional readings, the proposed law comes as PM Benjamin Netanyahu has indefinitely suspended the return of the bodies of Palestinians killed by security forces after killing Israelis.
  • Last month, three parliament members were suspended for supporting families of Palestinian assailants killed after attacking Israelis.

Read more:
“Israeli law to allow suspension of Arab legislators passes first hurdle” (Reuters)
“Controversial MK suspension bill passes first Knesset reading” (The Times of Israel)
“Netanyahu Orders Defense Minister Not to Return Terrorists’ Bodies to Palestinian Authority” (Haaretz)
“Ethics C’tee suspends Arab MKs from Knesset discussions” (Ynetnews)

(Image Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, via The Times of Israel)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.K. News | Ethnic Minorities

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U.K. PM Cameron appoints MP to investigate racial discrimination in British criminal justice system
  • Labour PM David Lammy will lead a government review of the British criminal justice system.
  • Black and other ethnic minorities account for more than 25% of British prisoners despite only comprising 14% of the population of England and Wales.
  • Minorities are also disproportionately more likely to represent Crown Court defendants and receive custodial sentences if found guilty than white counterparts.

Read more:
“David Cameron calls on David Lammy to investigate race bias in UK courts” (The Guardian)
“David Cameron appoints David Lammy to lead review into racism in the justice system” (The Independent)

(Image Credit: AFP/Getty, via The Independent)