A prominent Jewish rights organization says it has “serious concerns” about President Biden’s nomination to the US appeals court — over his ties to a controversial pro-Palestinian advocacy group at Rutgers University.
Non-profit watchdog StopAntisemitism said Adeel Mangi’s association with the Rutgers Center for Security, Race, and Rights (CSRR) would undermine his ability to remain impartial as a judge.
The New Jersey-based attorney, who is Muslim, was selected by President Biden to serve as a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in November.
The nomination quickly drew intense attention from conservatives over his ties to the CSRR, where he served as a member of its advisory board from 2019 to 2023.
The advocacy group raised eyebrows when it hosted a panel on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2021 — while Mangi was in office — that featured Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor who pleaded guilty in 2006 to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group.
Watchdog StopAntisemitism said Adeel Mangi’s ties to the Rutgers Center for Safety, Race and Rights (CSRR) could affect his ability to remain impartial as a judge. Sipa USA via AP
Al-Arian, who was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
The panel, titled “Whose Narrative? 20 Years since September 11, 2001,” also included Hatem Bazian, a UC Berkeley professor and co-founder of Students for Justice in Palestine who appeared to passionately call for an Intifada in the US in a video unearthed by the Jerusalem Post.
Another speaker in the panel was Dr. Rabab Abulhad, who tried in 2020 to organize an event featuring the famous Palestinian Liberation terrorist Leila Khaled, who is famous for a pair of brutal robberies she carried out in the late 60s and early 70s.
A poster for the event at the Rutgers center is shown, the same location where Adeel Mangi is on the advisory board, titled: Whose Narrative? 20 Years since September 11, 2001.
“We are not confident that he can perform his judicial duties fairly, and should be removed from consideration immediately,” StopAntisemitism executive director Liora Rez said in a statement.
“His association with the Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) raises serious concerns, as does his relationship with CSRR Executive Director Sahar Aziz and their gruesome 9/11 memorial featuring convicted terrorist supporter Sami al-Arian,” Rez said, while adding that the group was “vehemently opposed” to Mangi’s candidacy.
The CSRR on its website lists “criminalization of Muslim identity” through “United States and global national security laws and policies” as one of the main themes of its mission.
Senator Ted Cruz is seen during a hearing of Biden judicial nominee Adeel Mangi. sentcruz/X
Recent lectures held at CSRR include “Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine,” and “Palestine Teach in Series: Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories,” according to its website.
During Mangi’s confirmation hearing before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in December, Republican lawmakers blasted the lawyer over his ties to the center.
“Are you willing to denounce the center where you serve for inviting a convicted terrorist, a supporter of Palestinian Islamic Jihad…” Senator Ted Cruz said during an aggressive line of questioning.
The Republican lawmaker blasted Adeel Mangi over his links to the center. sentcruz/X
Mangi insisted his involvement was limited to academic advisors and that he had no knowledge of the controversial 9/11 panel.
“I don’t know anything about these events or who these people are, I’ve never heard of any of them, if someone there is a terrorist, I condemn them,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Mangi submitted his resignation to the CSRR last June and left at the end of July.
“The center’s work does not correspond to what I personally feel are the most productive areas of academic focus in support of civil rights litigation,” he wrote in the Committee’s questionnaire.
Mangi’s confirmation vote is scheduled for Thursday. If appointed, he would be the first Muslim in American history to serve on a federal appeals court, where judges serve for life.
He did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by The Post.
The Post has also contacted the CSRR.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
