A group of attorneys in San Diego will offer free legal services to defend the civil rights of local Jewish and Muslim community members who may be victimized because of tensions surrounding the deadly Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East.
The effort was announced Thursday outside of the downtown San Diego federal courthouse by Shane Harris, president of People’s Association of Justice Advocates, and several of the attorneys.
“No matter what side of the conflict you land on, everyone ought to be on the side of protecting one’s civil rights,” Harris said.
He and the attorneys spoke of hypothetical situations, such as employees fired over their beliefs about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or customers kicked out of restaurants because of their background.
Federal and state laws protect civil rights. California law, for example, forbids acts of violence or threats of violence against a person based on personal characteristics such as race and ethnicity. The state’s Ralph Civil Rights Act and Bane Act allow for restraining orders and lawsuits that seek damages.
Attorney Larry Shea said the attorneys can help resolve issues through education if culprits such as employers are unaware of civil rights protections under state and federal law. Shea said lawsuits are a last resort for egregious violations.
Attorney John Gomez said he hopes the idea of the task force will put the public on notice and prevent civil rights violations. He and other attorneys said they hope they will not need to field any calls.
“But if it does happen, the people who are here today stand ready to defend the rights of the person who was involved, regardless of their age, regardless of their ethnicity and regardless of their political beliefs,” attorney Gene Iredale said.
Harris said attorneys Julia Yoo and Jessica Lujan are part of the effort, too.
Those wishing for a free legal consultation with a participating attorney about potential civil rights violations can contact pajmovement.org/legal-aid-taskforce or (619) 354-8051.
The long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated Oct. 7 when Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., Canada and the European Union, launched a surprise attack on southern Israel. In retaliation, Israeli military forces launched strikes against Gaza.
In the subsequent war, more than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, according to the Associated Press. More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial Hamas attack.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, there was a dramatic surge in antisemitic events nationwide after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The watchdog group recorded more than 300 antisemitic incidents in a little more than two weeks following the attack, a 388 percent increase over the same period last year, according to a report.
Palestinian Americans and Muslims in some communities across the country have also faced an uptick in alleged hate crimes and bigotry since the war began, according to CNN and other news reports. One high-profile case was the fatal stabbing of 6-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume in Illinios on Oct. 14.
Last week the Department of Homeland Security and FBI issued a warning that states in recent weeks “the volume and frequency of threats to Americans, especially those in Jewish, Arab American and Muslim communities have increased, raising our concern that violent extremists and lone offenders motivated by or reacting to ongoing events could target these communities.”
The joint news release said the threats the agencies have seen include “hoax bomb threats targeting houses of worship and violent rhetoric online encouraging attacks against Jewish, Arab American and Muslim communities across the United States.”
Those wishing to report a potential hate crime or hate incident can contact the District Attorney’s Office Hate Crimes Unit at hatecrimes@sdcda.org or (619) 515-8805.
