CHICAGO: Two college students who participated in campus protests against Israel’s actions during its war on the Gaza Strip plan to file lawsuits against organizations they accuse of engaging in “illegal harassment” and “bullying” that provoked “death threats” against them.
The Civil Liability for Doxxing Act, an Illinois law that came into effect in January this year, gives residents of the state the right to raise a civil action against individuals or organizations that intentionally publish their personal information without consent to cause harm or economic injury. It gives courts the power to issue protection orders to ensure the safety of victims, lawyers for the students said.
Laila Ali and Kinza Khan, who participated in pro-Palestine protests during the spring, said they “suffered greatly,” personally and professionally, after their personal information was posted on social media, an act known as “doxxing,” by two organizations that target Palestinian students.
The organizations — StopAntisemitism, which is accused of harassing students on Twitter, and Canary Mission — are considered by critics to be among the most virulent anti-Arab hate groups in the US.
“The doxxing, harassment and threats that I faced were completely out of line,” Khan said during a press conference in Chicago hosted by the Council on American Islamic Relations.
“This abusive, doxxing behavior is continuing for others who support Palestine, including kids, college students, small business owners and other vulnerable people.
“We are witnessing a double standard in how pro-Palestinian doxxing gets addressed, or not addressed, by law enforcement. It’s time to demand that the anti-doxxing law is implemented fairly.”
Khan and Ali said they received thousands of emails and telephone calls after their personal details were revealed, not only to their homes but also to their employers in an attempt to have them fired.
“They threatened my life and they threatened my career,” Khan said.
Phil Robertson, CAIR-Chicago’s litigation director, said the intent of the organizations through their actions was to silence legitimate criticism of a foreign government, and that such criticism has nothing to do with antisemitism or hatred of Jews or any religious group.
“Doxxing not only aims to suppress freedom of expression but also creates an atmosphere of fear and vulnerability among Palestinians and their allies, both online and offline,” he added.
“In this situation, we have two individuals — who are indicative of many, many more — who have been subjected to this type of harassment and treatment online and it has resulted in very adverse impacts on their lives and to their well-being.”
Ali and Khan have had issues with their employers and careers as a result of the harassment, Robertson said.
“We now have tools in Illinois to allow citizens to go after people who are harassing them … We want to encourage people to contact CAIR to let us know if they have been doxxed, how long it has been going on, and keep these lawsuits coming so that we can work to end this scourge that has been happening for far too long in this country,” he added.
“The impact extends beyond individual victims to affect broader advocacy efforts and public discourse on Palestinian issues, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced protections against online abuse and harassment based on political beliefs and affiliations.”
CAIR-Chicago’s director, Ahmad Rehab, said that CAIR and the plaintiffs in the lawsuits oppose antisemitism and do not engage in “hatred against people who are Jewish.”
He added: “These organizations are weaponizing antisemitism in order to shut down Palestinian voices, individuals who have a constitutional right of expression in America.
“But don’t be mistaken. We are also very clear that we oppose antisemitism. We will not support the hatred of anyone, including Jewish people. But no one can say that you can’t criticize a foreign country or foreign government, or anyone, simply because they are Jewish. Weaponizing antisemitism actually weakens the fight against antisemitism.”
Rehab described StopAntisemitism and Canary Mission as “anti-American organizations that contradict American civil rights and don’t belong in America.”
Lawsuits target alleged anti-Arab hate groups accused of bullying pro-Palestine student protesters
https://arab.news/p2eq5
Lawsuits target alleged anti-Arab hate groups accused of bullying pro-Palestine student protesters
- Laila Ali and Kinza Khan say they ‘suffered greatly,’ personally and professionally, after their personal details were published by the groups, an act known as ‘doxxing’
- A law introduced in January gives people in Illinois the right to take civil action against persons who reveal personal details to cause harm or economic injury
Carney says Canada has no plans to pursue free trade agreement with China as Trump threatens tariffs
Carney says Canada has no plans to pursue free trade agreement with China as Trump threatens tariffs
TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday his country has no intention of pursuing a free trade deal with China. He was responding to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods imported from Canada if America’s northern neighbor went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing.
Carney said his recent agreement with China merely cuts tariffs on a few sectors that were recently hit with tariffs.
Trump claims otherwise, posting that “China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone! President DJT”
The prime minister said under the free trade agreement with the US and Mexico there are commitments not to pursue free trade agreements with nonmarket economies without prior notification.
“We have no intention of doing that with China or any other nonmarket economy,” Carney said. “What we have done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”
In 2024, Canada mirrored the United States by putting a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles from Beijing and a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum. China had responded by imposing 100 percent import taxes on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25 percent on pork and seafood.
Breaking with the United States this month during a visit to China, Carney cut its 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on those Canadian products.
Carney has said there would be an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1 percent, growing to about 70,000 over five years. He noted there was no cap before 2024. He also has said the initial cap on Chinese EV imports was about 3 percent of the 1.8 million vehicles sold in Canada annually and that, in exchange, China is expected to begin investing in the Canadian auto industry within three years.
Trump posted a video Sunday in which the chief executive of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association warns there will be no Canadian auto industry without US access, while noting the Canadian market alone is too small to justify large scale manufacturing from China.
“A MUST WATCH. Canada is systematically destroying itself. The China deal is a disaster for them. Will go down as one of the worst deals, of any kind, in history. All their businesses are moving to the USA. I want to see Canada SURVIVE AND THRIVE! President DJT,” Trump posted on social media.
Trump’s post on Saturday said that if Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken.”
“We can’t let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the U.S,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We have a , but based off — based on that, which is going to be renegotiated this summer, and I’m not sure what Prime Minister Carney is doing here, other than trying to virtue-signal to his globalist friends at Davos.”
Trump’s threat came amid an escalating war of words with Carney as the Republican president’s push to acquire Greenland strained the NATO alliance.
Carney has emerged as a leader of a movement for countries to find ways to link up and counter the US under Trump. Speaking in Davos before Trump, Carney said, “Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu” and he warned about coercion by great powers — without mentioning Trump’s name. The prime minister received widespread praise and attention for his remarks, upstaging Trump at the World Economic Forum.
Trump’s push to acquire Greenland has come after he has repeatedly needled Canada over its sovereignty and suggested it also be absorbed into the United States as a 51st state. He posted an altered image on social media this week showing a map of the United States that included Canada, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba as part of its territory.
