NAML Joins Bar Associations in Urging Law Firms to Promote Inclusion and Counter Anti-Palestinian Sentiment
(WASHINGTON, DC - 11/14/2023) The National Association of Muslim Lawyers today joined twelve other bar associations representing more than a thousand attorneys and urged law firms across the country to work with them to address rising Islamophobia and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiments nationwide and within their workplaces.
In a letter sent to more than 100 of the top law firms in the U.S., the coalition responded in part to a letter sent to law school deans and asserts that many Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab employees have been marginalized by a failure to acknowledge the death and suffering of innocent Palestinian lives and rising Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiments in internal and external law firm statements. The letter notes the current environment in which Palestinians and those advocating for their human rights are being dehumanized and silenced. The letter states that some law firms’ unequal treatment of the current crisis has sent the message that Israeli and Jewish lives matter, but Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim lives do not.
The full letter can be read here.
The nationwide coalition of bar associations calls on law firms to:
Work with the coalition to issue a new letter to law school deans addressing Islamophobia, and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate and bigotry.
Acknowledge the equal humanity of Palestinians and Israelis, and equally condemn the killing of all civilians, Israeli and Palestinian, in any internal or external statements.
Create safe spaces and direct channels to firm leadership so attorneys and staff can be supported and heard.
Implement educational programs on Islamophobia, and anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian hate and bigotry.
Engage in pro bono opportunities aimed at combating Islamophobia, and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate and bigotry.
Express support for the fundamental rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution for the freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble without experiencing intimidation, harassment, hate, bigotry, retaliation, or discrimination.
The coalition emphasizes: “As members of the legal profession, it is incumbent on us to promote equity and fight all forms of hate. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate and bigotry can and should be simultaneously denounced. We therefore urge law firms to take the same active stance in rejecting Islamophobia, and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate and bigotry as they have done with anti-Semitism, which would be consistent with law firms’ values and policies.” AmLaw 100 firms received the letter.
The following bar associations signed on to this letter:
American Muslim Bar Association
Bay Area Muslim Lawyers Association
Capital Area Muslim Bar Association
Dallas-Fort Worth Muslim Bar Association
Georgia Association of Muslim Lawyers
Muslim Bar Association of Chicago
Muslim Bar Association of Houston
Muslim Bar Association of New York
Muslim Bar Association of Southern California
National Association of Muslim Lawyers
New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association
North Carolina Muslim Bar Association
South Asian Bar Association of Houston
To add your bar association as a signatory to the letter, please fill out this form.
For more information and for media inquiries, contact AllianceforInclusionandJustice@gmail.com
