After dozens of U.S. law firms issued a joint statement denouncing campus antisemitism, Muslim legal groups sent a response letter to some 100 major firms claiming they are contributing to “an environment of Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment.”
“Some firms’ uneven treatment of this highly sensitive issue is sadly dehumanizing Palestinian, Arab and Muslim lives, creating a workplace that is less inclusive, less welcoming and more hostile,” the group wrote in a letter first obtained by the New York Times. The American Muslim Bar Association (AMBA), the National Association of Muslim Lawyers, and nearly a dozen other Muslim legal groups signed onto the letter.
While the National Association of Muslim Lawyers has shared messages condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia in recent weeks on social-media, AMBA has taken a different approach, supporting protesters removed from Congress for opposing “THE BIDEN DEATH PACKAGE” to Israel and demanding “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!”
Less than a week after Hamas’s surprise invasion of Israel – and before Israeli forces had invaded the Gaza Strip – the group released a public letter accusing the Jewish State of “intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure.” “[O]ur U.S. Administration is funding Israel’s genocide,” AMBA declared in a statement on October 13 without a single reference to Hamas or the atrocities of October 7.
In early November, over two dozen prestigious American law firms issued a stern warning that law schools move with “urgency” to address the rising antisemitism on campus, or face recruitment hits, National Review learned.
“Over the last several weeks, we have been alarmed at reports of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and assaults on college campuses, including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel. Such anti-Semitic activities would not be tolerated at any of our firms,” the statement published on Wednesday reads. “
“As educators at institutions of higher learning, it is imperative that you provide your students with the tools and guidance to engage in the free exchange of ideas, even on emotionally charged issues, in a manner that affirms the values we all hold dear and rejects unreservedly that which is antithetical to those values,” the letter continued. “There is no room for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism or any other form of violence, hatred or bigotry on your campuses, in our workplaces or our communities.”
“We trust you will take the same unequivocal stance against such activities as we do, and we look forward to a respectful dialogue with you to understand how you are addressing with urgency this serious situation at your law schools,” the letter concluded.
The message was reportedly spearheaded by Joe Shenker, a senior chair of Sullivan & Cromwell, one of the signatories. He was dismayed to see universities “late to getting that Jewish students are actually scared — they feel threatened, and they feel betrayed,” he told DealBook.
The announcement prompted some legal professionals to applaud the move and question why others had not signed. “Disappointed that my former firm @BCLPlaw [Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP] did not sign, but feel confident that this type of behavior would not be tolerated there either,” Sarah Beth Burwick wrote on X following the news.
There have also been several incidents in which law students have had their job offers rescinded for signing onto public letters which sympathized with Hamas terrorists.