law
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Why International Law Can’t Save Palestine
Liberal critics of Israel often think that, to achieve peace with Palestinians, all Israel needs to do is better respect international law. Noura Erakat’s new book, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine, powerfully corrects this narrative by showing how international law has done more to entrench Israel’s settler colonialism than impede it.…
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Fordham’s Students for Justice in Palestine Did More Than Win Club Status
When I was an undergrad at Fordham, my friends and I tried to form a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The student government voted to approve our application, but the dean of students overruled that vote and prohibited us from attaining official club status on campus. So we filed a lawsuit. Last…
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The Supreme Court Just Agreed with Me on Arizona’s Redistricting Plan
Yesterday, in Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision to uphold a legislative map drawn by an independent redistricting commission that ensures representation among voters of color. Republican voters sued on the grounds that they believed the map violated the “one-person, one-vote” principle because it was too…
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How the Supreme Court Authorized Racial Profiling
Originally published at Huffington Post. After the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s dismantled explicitly racist laws, racism became colorblind to survive. Today, although no law explicitly allows for racial profiling by law enforcement, it still happens at an institutional level. What’s often left out of the discussion about why racial profiling happens…
Gunar Olsen 