Controversial anti-Israel group condemns Ohio school for allegedly persecuting Palestinians

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Ohio filed a legal complaint against Case Western Reserve University over what it alleges is the school’s unfair treatment of Palestinians. 

In a press release published Monday, the Cleveland and Northern Ohio chapter of CAIR-Ohio announced that it issued a Title VI complaint against the Ohio school because of “alleged targeting and intimidation against students involved in Students for Justice in Palestine.”

CAIR is claiming that CWRU has discriminated against Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and their “affiliates and allies.” 

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Executive Director of the Cleveland and Northern Ohio chapter Faten Husni Odeh asserted that the group filed the complaint “after many failed attempts to meet with President Kaler” about the alleged persecution of Palestinian students. 

“Instead of fostering an inclusive and welcoming learning environment, the leadership of Case Western Reserve University created an openly hostile atmosphere for students standing up against brutality and genocide. Had the administration been more interested in its students rather than an oppressive and violent foreign regime, we could’ve avoided this action,” he said. 

CAIR has found itself at the center of several controversies in the past related to anti-Semitism. 

The anti-Defamation League (ADL) states that “key CAIR leaders often traffic in openly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric,” and that “[s]ome of CAIR’s leaders were previously involved in a now-defunct organization that openly supported Hamas and, according to the U.S. government, functioned as its ‘propaganda apparatus.’”

The ADL also points out that after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist massacre of Jewish civilians, “many of CAIR’s leaders defended or justified the unprecedented terror assault, and argued it was a ‘legitimate right’ of the Palestinians to ‘resist the occupation.’”

On the day of the Oct. 7 massacre, CAIR released a statement that seemed to approve of the attack on Israeli civilians, stating it reaffirmed “its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their right to freedom from the Israeli occupation.”

The CWRU Students for Justice in Palestine made its followers aware of the complaint on Tuesday in a post to Instagram. 

The post attacked CWRU leadership for its supposed “neglect, discrimination, and lack of regard for the safety of Palestinian, Muslim and Arab students.” 

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The post also alleged that “CWRU has consistently silenced any and all academic and political expression advocating for Palestinian justice. They have instead emboldened and platformed anti-Palestinian hate and conducted witch hunts against pro-Palestinian members of the CWRU community.”

“CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY IS HOSTILE TO PALESTINIANS. WE DEMAND JUSTICE,” the post concludes.

A Case Western Reserve spokesperson shared with Campus Reform a statement from the university saying: “[W]e support the rights of our students, faculty and staff to protest and share their ideas in accordance with the Policy on Freedom of Expression/Expressive Activities.”

The statement continued: “While we work to uphold the critical importance of freedom of expression, we remind our community that constructive dialogue should never involve language or actions that intimidate or threaten others. Compliance with university policies helps ensure we provide all members of our community with the safe, welcoming environment for which Case Western Reserve is known.”

Campus Reform has contacted CAIR-Ohio for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.