The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the alleged assault on Malak Afaneh, a Palestinian Muslim University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley) law student, by UC Berkeley law professor Catherine Fisk. The incident occurred during a dinner for graduating law students at the home of Fisk and her husband Erwin Chemerinsky, the law school’s dean.
At the dinner, Afaneh, a leader of the Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine, reportedly stood to greet other attendees with the Arabic as-salamu alaykum (peace be upon you) and to speak about the importance of Ramadan to Palestinians and Muslims and the university’s financial investments in Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. While Afaneh was speaking, Fisk allegedly grabbed her violently to prevent her from sharing her views.
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In a statement, Afaneh said:
“Fisk’s assault was a symbol of the deeper Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and religious discrimination that runs rampant within the UC administration. I was attacked not only for speaking about Palestine but also because I was a Muslim woman who dared to wear a hijab and a keffiyeh and speak in my native tongue of Arabic, equating my identity with something that should be feared and someone who deserved to be silenced.”
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
“Students at UC Berkeley have reported being targeted and harassed for their Palestine advocacy for many months now, not just by fellow students but also faculty and administrators. Dean Chemerinsky has unfortunately perpetuated an atmosphere of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism for too long.
“It is concerning to see his and Professor Fisk’s violent response to a student speaking out against the Israeli genocide in Palestine. It is reprehensible for UC Berkeley to claim to champion free speech while its leaders commit such deplorable acts of physical censorship.”
The UC administration has reportedly invested $2 billion in weapons manufacturers and financiers, including Boeing, Blackrock, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and others. Boeing has been identified as a supplier of F-15 fighter jets, Apache AH-64 attack helicopters, and unguided small-diameter bombs for Israel, which have been used to kill over 33,000 Palestinians since October 2023. The UN special rapporteur recently concluded that the threshold of the crime of genocide has been met in Gaza and is calling for an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel.
UC Berkeley has been a site of consistent protest since Israel’s brutal onslaught on Gaza began in October. Upon Israel’s targeting of Rafah in February, where over 1.4 million Palestinians are currently seeking refuge, students have obstructed UC Berkeley’s iconic Sather Gate for nearly two months. Students are using banners that state “UC You Have Blood on Your Hands” and “No Peace Until Divestment,” urging the UC to divest from all entities making arms sales to Israel.
Billoo added, “CAIR-SFBA stands firmly with all Americans’ unequivocal right to engage in non-violent discourse and will continue to advocate against any form of censorship or oppression—violent or otherwise—that threatens those who are advocating for a ceasefire in Palestine. We are dedicated to supporting and protecting the voices of those who courageously speak out on matters of injustice and human rights.”