Zara has been suspended from Columbia Law School for two years due to student activism for Palestinian human rights. Zara is an extraordinarily promising advocate for justice, with a strong record of social justice work. She is a first-generation law student and was accepted to Columbia Law on a full-tuition scholarship for her dedication to human rights work.
Despite the punishment imposed on her for her activism, we want to help her continue her legal education by funding a human rights fellowship so she can fulfill her dreams of becoming a human rights lawyer. During the time she is suspended, Zara has decided to work full-time for human rights.
For the next year, Zara has been awarded an (unpaid) Research Fellowship at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), an internationally well-known human rights organization in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our goal is $67,000, matching the amount that other Fellowships holders with similar circumstances receive as a stipend in the social justice sector in South Africa, for 12 months of work.
CALS is South Africa’s oldest public interest law organization, established in 1978 to oppose apartheid in South Africa. At this public interest law firm and research center, she will gain legal research and litigation skills while working on projects such as civil and political rights with the African Court of Human Rights, cases concerning Palestinian human rights, and advocacy regarding corporate accountability in the mining industry.
This year, Zara was arrested and suspended by Columbia University for attending a student protest demanding divestment. For standing with the rights of Palestinians facing a genocide, her own rights to speech, assembly, and education are being undercut.
Zara came to Columbia on a full-tuition scholarship (one that the university has since threatened) for international human rights work and public interest law. She is an immigrant, a first-generation law student, and the first woman in her family to pursue a professional degree. Her prior experiences include working for nonprofit refugee rights organizations in the U.S., Jordan, and Egypt, as an ESL tutor for low-income communities in Michigan, as a resettlement caseworker for refugees in Maryland, and as a researcher investigating human rights violations in New York. She also speaks 7 languages to better serve those she worked with.
Please join us in supporting Zara so that the suspension does not prevent her from continuing her legal education for justice. She has chosen to use the period of suspension to continue the fight for human rights, and to deepen her advocacy skills. By supporting her now, we can support her long-term commitment to rights and justice, and aid in fostering her skills as an advocate.
We are aiming to raise $10,000 by November 1st, marking one month since Zara has started her position at CALS! We are also looking for contributions to the following donation targets, helping us meet our goal!
3 people at $2,500 = $7,500
5 people at $2,000 = $10,000
10 people $ 1,000 = $10,000
20 people $500 = $10,000
100 people $100 = $10,000
200 people $50 = $10,000
500 people $20 = $10,000
You can also donate directly to CALS to support Zara's fellowship at
https://giving.wits.ac.za/. Be sure to select “Wits Centre for Applied Legal Studies” as the allocation. CALS will then forward your funds to Zara. You can also email [email redacted].za (confidential) to confirm that your donation has been processed.
All funds will directly go to Zara to support her time as a fellow for CALS. A pseudonym is being used to protect Zara's identity.