Jessica Emami PhD 🇮🇹 🤌🇮🇷

Tom Steyer: “I’m totally in favor of trans athletes in high school. When you understand the vulnerability, the stress, the danger of being a trans kid and you understand almost half of them try to commit suicide. Then you think we’re gonna punish those kids, we’re gonna cut them off from team sport. It’s like, no we’re not”

An employee at a California resort filmed himself harassing Israeli guests and then posted the footage online. Whether he was fired or resigned afterward is secondary to the larger legal issue at hand. Under Title II of the Civil Rights Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, hotels and other public accommodations are prohibited from discriminating against or harassing individuals on the basis of religion or national origin. Targeting people simply because they are Israeli is not “activism” or protected political commentary. It crosses into unlawful discrimination. Businesses have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure that all guests can access public spaces safely, equally, and without intimidation.

Today, I spoke with the President Herzog of Israel. I reiterated that the appalling treatment of civilians aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable, and that respect for human dignity must be upheld everywhere, at all times. I underlined the imperative of de-escalation in the Middle East, and the importance of a genuine resumption of dialogue among all parties. Progress toward peace and stability in the region must remain the clear, shared objective.