Tag Archives: Law & Politics

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel News: Arab Israelis

Outrage erupts in Israeli Knesset after the deputy interior minister tells parliament member she should return her citizenship card for participating in a flotilla to Gaza
  • Coming during a debate on the proposed cancellation of law giving Israeli citizenship to Palestinians who marry Israeli Arabs, Yaron Mazuz’s provocation also included a comment about Arab MK Hanin Zoabi being “done a favor” by being allowed to be in the Israeli parliament.
  • In response, PM Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Arab MKs for speaking out against the Israeli army and accused them of “hypocrisy.”
  • Other MKs, from the Joint List Arab coalition as well as other parties, swiftly condemned the comments, calling for an apology.

“Ms. Zoabi, you are the first of those who should hand back their identity card. … We are doing you a favor that you are even sitting here. Terrorists don’t sit here. You are in a democratic state — respect the state. Anyone who acts against the state through terror has no right to be here. It is unacceptable for members of this institution to take part in terror flotillas against the State of Israel.”

Read the full story at The Times of Israel.

(Image Credit: Screen capture from Channel 2, via The Times of Israel)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Australia News | Indigenous Australians

Western Sydney Aboriginal community health center de-funded by government due to debts
  • The Department of Health announced that it was cutting AUS$2.6 million of funding from the Aboriginal Medical Service Western Sydney, a primary health care center for western Sydney’s indigenous community serving 11,000.
  • A department spokesman said that the department would work with the center over the next three months to transition its patients to other health service providers.
  • AMSWS had been found to have AUS$4 million in debt and had applied for funding from the government’s new Indigenous Advancement Strategy program.

“The Australian government acknowledges that this could be disruptive for patients, many of whom benefit by the community controlled model of care presently offered by AMSWS, but as this service is now no longer viable, every effort will be made to transition patients to other services, including local GPs and mental health and drug rehabilitation services.”

Read the full story at The Australian.

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

U.S. News | Minorities

U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of broad interpretability of Fair Housing Act
  • The 5-4 ruling allows for lawsuits to be filed claiming “disparate impact” of housing policies and practices on minorities–a statistical measure–rather than simply explicit discrimination, which can be difficult to prove as organizations and individuals are rarely obvious in their discriminatory practices.
  • The case involved an organization that supports integrated housing, often involving lower-income minority families attempting to use housing vouchers to move to the suburbs; the group claimed that because a disproportionate number of the low-income tax credits that require that landlords accept the vouchers had been given to landlords in minority neighborhoods, the practice was making it difficult for families to move to white-majority suburbs.
  • However, the ruling did not go so far as to say such practices would be proven to generate disparate impact, only that “disparate impact” was a justifiable legal claim.

“Much progress remains to be made in our nation’s continuing struggle against racial isolation. … The court acknowledges the Fair Housing Act’s continuing role in moving the nation toward a more integrated society.”

Read the full story at the New York Times.

Age, Gender, Religion + Belief

Bosnia and Herzegovina News | Muslim Men

The Islamic State targets Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina in latest recruitment efforts
  • A recently released recruitment video shows Bosnian IS fighters calling on Muslims from the Balkans–and specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina–to launch attacks in their home cities and emigrate to fight in the Middle East.
  • Young men in Bosnia are particularly vulnerable to such recruitment efforts, where they face a 63% youth unemployment rate, precarious social conditions, and poor prospects.
  • Security and counterterrorism efforts have been largely uncoordinated and lacking a grand strategy, even in the wake of one radical’s attack on a police station in late April that left one officer and the gunman dead.

“Returning foreign fighters from Syria and Iraq – battle-hardened, skilled in handling arms and explosives, and ideologically radicalised – pose a direct threat not only to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also of the region and beyond.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Al Hayat, via the Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Alabama News | Racial Symbolism

Alabama governor orders Confederate flags removed from capitol grounds
  • After checking for legal impediments to such a decision, Governor Robert Bentley had the four flags removed, including the iconic battle flag as well as the first, second, and third national flags of the Confederacy.
  • Bentley ordered the removal to preempt a length debate as the state grapples with contentious budget legislation.
  • The first official capital of the Confederacy, Montgomery had the three additional flags installed after a governor tried to remove the battle flag from the grounds in the early ’90s.

Read the full story at NPR.

(Image Credit: Martin Swant/AP, via NPR)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Dominican Republic News | LGBT

Dominican Republic organization works with government and community to promote tourism and economic empowerment for LGBT community
  • The Center for Integrated Training and Research (COIN) has roots in the three-decade fight against AIDS in the Caribbean.
  • The organization now focuses on economic empowerment , through which it has worked with government and travel industry officials and offered community workshops through its program ProActividad.
  • Out U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic James “Wally” Brewster and his husband have worked to support the country’s LGBT community despite opposition in the conservative, Catholic-predominant country.
“We are all looking for the same thing: To eliminate negative things in order for us to build something positive.”
Read the full story at the Washington Blade.
(Image Credit: Michael K. Lavers/Washington Blade)
Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | Transgender

U.S. government orders companies insuring federal employees to include transition-related coverage for transgender individuals
  • The Office of Personnel Management issued the carrier letter ahead of the fall decision timeline it had initially outlined.
  • The office lifted the ban on transition-services coverage a year ago, but mandatory coverage was not yet required.
  • The expanded coverage will go in effect at the beginning of 2016.

“With today’s announcement, transgender federal employees can now access health care that is so fundamental to their well-being and, in the long-term, will make transgender employees happier and more productive workers.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

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

Canada News | Muslim Women

Quebec premier defends proposed legislation banning face-covering attire for certain civic employees and toughening consequences for hate speech
  • Premier Philippe Couillard indicated that the legislation under consideration by Quebec lawmakers would ban face coverings on public servants in roles requiring face-to-face engagement with the public.
  • The draft legislation is a narrower version of the previous government’s proposal to ban the wearing of religious symbols by all public servants.
  • The current draft of the hate speech law creates a Human Rights Tribunal, which would oversee investigations and punitive actions for individuals inciting violence against vulnerable groups.

“The role of the government is to draw a line in the sand. … This issue of face covering for me has very little to do with religion, and a lot to do about the image of women, the status of women in our society. Showing your face is the essence of communication.”

Read the full story at the New York Times.

(Image Credit: Mary Altaffer/Associated Press, via the New York Times)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

China News | Uyghur Muslims

Attack on traffic stop amidst Ramadan tensions leaves at least 18 dead in southwest Xinjiang in China
  • In the Tahtakoruk district of Kashgar (Kashi), suspects attacked unarmed traffic police with a vehicle, knives, and explosives, leading to three officers’ deaths and injuring at least four others.
  • Armed backup arrived and reportedly killed 15 suspects, though the exact number of dead was unclear in the confusion of the aftermath.
  • The violent incident occurs as tensions have increased in Xinjiang between the government and the autonomous region’s Muslim Uyghur population over Ramadan, with government restrictions on participation in activities for the holy month having angered citizens.

Read the full story at Radio Free Asia.

Nationality + Migration

Australia News | Nationals

Children of convicted terrorists in Australia could see their citizenship stripped under proposed law
  • Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has introduced a bill in parliament that would automatically remove Australian citizenship for those whose conduct is identified with terrorist activity, who travel abroad to fight with Australian enemies or terrorist organizations, or those convicted of terrorism by Australian courts.
  • Children could have their nationality removed as well if they are dual nationals unless there is a remaining Australian national parent who can care for them.
  • The immigration minister would retain the ability to reinstate citizenship without judicial oversight as a stopgap measure.

“The fact is, if you are a terrorist and you have left our country to fight with a terrorist movement that regards our way of life as in some way satanic, it is saying to us, submit or die, which hates our freedom, which hates our tolerance, which hates the welcome that we give to minorities, which hates everything about the way we live – frankly why should we consider you to be one of us?”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Mick Tsikas/AAP, via the Guardian)

Ideology + Affiliation

Cambodia News | Advocates

Demonstrators protest proposed NGO law outside Cambodian parliament
  • Around 100 protesters rallied in solidarity against a draft law requiring NGOs to report their activities and finances to the government.
  • NGOs could face disbandment in the country if the government deems their activities “jeopardize peace, stability and public order or harm the national security, national unity, culture, and traditions of Cambodian society.”
  • Around 5,000 NGOs have registered in Cambodia since 1993, and human rights monitors worry the new legislation–currently awaiting parliamentary approval–would dissolve the strategic barrier between government and civil society and curtail the ability of organizations to defend rights and provide services.
“The draft… appears designed to restrict the legitimate activities of civil society and human rights defenders in violation of the right to freedom of association.”
Read the full AFP story at the Jakarta Post.
Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief
New York mayor adds Lunar New Year as school holiday, to the relief of Asian-American families
  • The addition had been a campaign promise from Mayor Bill de Blasio, and its passage comes just ahead of the State Legislature’s consideration of an identical measure.
  • Mayor de Blasio also added two Muslim holidays–Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha–to the calendar three months ago.
  • Asian-American students comprise almost 15% of the city’s public school population, and other cities with similarly large populations such as San Francisco have added the holiday before.

“Finally, students of Asian descent will not be forced to choose between observing the most important holiday of the year and missing important academic work. … Lunar New Year is a deeply important cultural observance for nearly 15 percent of public school students, and this designation gives Lunar New Year the respect and recognition it has long deserved.”

Read the full story at the New York Times.

(Image Credit: Ángel Franco/The New York Times)

Race + Color + Ethnicity
Across U.S. Southern states, Charleston massacre gives fresh momentum to calls for removal of Confederate imagery from public sites and symbols
  • South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has called for the removal of the Confederate flag from state grounds.
  • After a 2001 referendum that saw resounding support for retaining the design of the flag, Mississippi legislators are again pushing for the removal of the “stars and bars” portion of the state’s flag.
  • In Austin, a push to remove a statue of the President of the Confederacy from the University of Texas campus continues, while in Baltimore, city officials hope to rename Robert E. Lee Park.

“We should have been having this conversation a long time ago in the South … because now with every instance of violence you keep seeing the same symbol — the symbol on our state flag.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

(Image Credit: Rogelio V. Solis/AP, via BuzzFeed)

Gender, Ideology + Affiliation
Egyptian women convene in “stand” against political detentions and bans on assembly
  • At the same location in Cairo where 23 opposition activists were arrested for protesting last year, dozens of women gathered in demonstration against the detentions.
  • The “stand,” a form of nonviolent protest, took place for an hour outside of the presidential palace despite prohibitions on unsanctioned assembly.
  • While police confronted journalists and attempted to block the protest from view, the women held up images of the detained, with messages calling for their release.

Read the full story at the New York Times.

(Image Credit: Omar Kamel/Twitter photo, via the New York Times)

Sexual + Gender Minorities
Anti-gay sentiment in Kyrgyzstan has complex cultural and geopolitical roots in the evolution of Russian-Western relations
  • Journalists, researchers, and advocates attempt to tease out the causes of expanding anti-gay sentiment in the country as Kyrgyz legislators debate bills looking to limit international influence and gay rights.
  • Kyrgyzstan’s strategic location in Central Asia has led to an ongoing tug-of-war between the U.S. and Russia for influence in the region, with the latter’s hardline conservative stance against the LGBT community seen as influencing Kyrgyzstan’s current social landscape.
  • Gay rights’ status as a symbol of Western cultural imperialism in the region has allowed for the marriage of anti-gay and nationalist interests, with “gay propaganda” serving as a catch-all for the influence of international interests.

“People are confronting a changing world, they can’t understand it and they respond by returning to the values of their grandmothers and grandfathers. … And these events around Russia the last year and half have only increased this sensation of unpredictability, tension. And, conservatism, reliance on patriotism, this wounded sense of pride, is a very convenient basis for political games.”

Read the full story at Al Jazeera America.

(Image Credit: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images, via Al Jazeera America)