A Jewish legal group is appealing to New York Supreme Court to block CUNY student Fatima Mousa Mohammed from becoming a lawyer after her ‘hate-filled’, anti-Israel commencement speech which they say proves she lacks the character and fitness to practice the law.
Mohammed graduated from CUNY Law in May and used her now infamous speech to label the NYPD as ‘fascist’ and denounce ‘Israeli settler colonialism’.
After a barrage of public outrage and calls for the largely taxpayer-funded school to be stripped of its handouts, CUNY apologized for her remarks, labeling them ‘hate speech’.
The Lawfare Project – which offers pro-bono legal services to benefit Jewish and pro-Israel people and causes – says the apology doesn’t go far enough. In a series of letters obtained by DailyMail.com, they are appealing to the New York Supreme Court to stop Mohammed from being able to become a lawyer.
In order to become a lawyer, graduates must not just pass the notoriously difficult bar exam, but they must also pass certain ‘character and fitness’ requirements. In the eyes of The Lawfare Project, Mohammed doesn’t qualify.
‘It’s our belief that a person who has proved themselves to be a bigot is not fit to practice law.
‘You have to wonder if it had been any other minority-protected group, would this even be a question,’ Benjamin Ryberg, COO of The Lawfare Project, said.
‘Ms. Mohammed has a history of publicly expressing prejudiced and discriminatory views, specifically demonstrating a profound animosity towards the Jewish community.
‘These views are fundamentally incompatible with the ethical obligations and principles upheld by the legal profession and leave no question that Ms. Mohammed lacks the character and fitness to practice law.
‘It is essential to recognize the potential harm that an individual with such discriminatory beliefs could inflict upon the legal community and the clients we serve.
‘Lawyers must be trusted to represent their clients without prejudice or bias, ensuring fair and equitable outcomes.
‘Admitting Ms. Mohammed to practice law in the State of New York would risk compromising the impartiality and integrity of our justice system and betraying the trust of those who seek legal assistance,’ the group argues in four letters sent to the court.
At 24, Mohammed moved to the US as a child from Yemeni.
She spoke at her graduation ceremony of her relatives who remain there, and of her pride at the notion of soon being able to fight for causes she believes in as an attorney.
Since the uproar over her commencement speech, she has said nothing publicly.
Ryberg says the group is not out for blood.
‘It would require more than just an apology, if she could recognize that her statements are anti-Jewish and discriminatory and agree to stop spreading this horrible rhetoric, then there is the possibility for redemption.
Read More: Jewish legal group asks New York Supreme Court to block CUNY student
