Latest news with #AFT
Newsweek
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
To Fight Antisemitism and Preserve Democracy, Educators and the Jewish Community Must Partner Closely
There is no question: Antisemitism is on the rise. From acts of mass violence, to efforts to marginalize or target Jews in schools, on campuses and in other key spaces, this threat is real. It comes alongside a broader rise in hate and extremism—and it threatens all of our communities and the core of our democracy. The loudest and most extreme voices are exploiting this moment to further pit our communities against one another, fueling division and polarization rather than constructive solutions. AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks to members of MomsRising during a day of action on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks to members of MomsRising during a day of action on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2025, in Washington, MomsRising There are rightfully strong feelings—and important debate and criticism—about events in the world, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But we have also seen deliberate efforts on both extremes to explicitly pit Jewish Americans against teachers' unions, academic institutions, and public education itself. These efforts aim to divide communities and institutions that have historically worked together. That's why our organizations, the AFT and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), recently launched a new partnership designed to model constructive engagement. It began in 2024, when JCPA spoke about antisemitism to an overflowing room at an AFT Higher Education meeting. It was immediately clear that educators were hungry for real information and dialogue to understand and combat hate. This year, we've grown our partnership. Our engagement has become all the more crucial as the Trump administration, seeking to exploit the Jewish community's legitimate concerns, has advanced an extreme agenda that guts federal funding for universities, arrests and seeks to deport students without due process, and fundamentally attacks core democratic principles including academic freedom. At the same time, the administration is also destroying the very institutions and tools we need to protect Jewish and all vulnerable students. This month, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with laying off over one-third of the Department of Education's staff. While the administration claims to prioritize the fight against antisemitism, it has decimated the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination in schools and on campus. The administration's harmful actions don't take away from the fact that Jewish educators and students are experiencing real hate and bias—from harassment or ostracization over real or perceived connections to Israel, to efforts to discount the urgency of increasing antisemitism, to explicit violence. Real concerns over antisemitism—and how best to fight it—were spotlighted just recently, with a vote at a National Education Association (NEA) convening on a resolution that sought to boycott Anti-Defamation League (ADL) resources. We applaud the NEA for ultimately rejecting this divisive resolution. What got lost in the controversy was the constructive resolutions the NEA passed aimed at protecting Jewish, and all, students and educators. Neither of our organizations are in lockstep with the ADL, but the solution to antisemitism and broader hate isn't to cut off engagement. On the contrary, we need to build the strongest possible coalitions, even across lines of disagreement. The ways in which antisemitism and anti-democratic extremism reinforce one another threaten not only the Jewish community but all of us. These threats require us to foster an approach that brings people together, recognizing our safety is inextricably linked. Our joint work is premised on three pillars: to create safe and welcoming environments; to challenge and counter all acts of hate, including antisemitism; and to protect people's rights to both their own expression and safe classrooms and campuses. We need to fight hate speech, but we must also change hearts and minds. Through programs and workshops, we are empowering educators and union leaders to recognize and combat antisemitism, as well as broader hate and extremism, and to constructively navigate nuanced issues related to Israel and Palestine. We are also bringing together local unions and Jewish communities to advance shared priorities. We are not naïve; we know that this work is difficult and that the challenges are real. Too many Jewish students and educators in K-12 schools, and on our university and college campuses, feel marginalized and unsafe. That is completely unacceptable, and it needs to change. As we tackle these problems, we fundamentally reject the idea that robust public education and academic institutions, thriving teachers' unions, and strong democratic values are somehow at odds with Jewish safety. On the contrary: Educators, working together with Jewish community leaders, have a critical role to play in fighting antisemitism and all hate. The safety of the Jewish community is intimately connected with a strong public education system, a thriving labor movement, and an inclusive democracy that protects the rights and freedoms of all. The extreme voices who say that we should not or cannot work together are wrong. For the sake of our collective future, we can't let them be victorious. Randi Weingarten is president of the AFT. Amy Spitalnick is CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Soldier killed in ‘friendly fire' during op can't be denied benefits: HC
The Punjab and Haryana high court has said a soldier killed in 'friendly fire' while deployed in a military operation cannot be denied benefits applicable to those killed in action. The court did not find any merit in the contention that there was a delay in filing the application, as pension, which an employee who served the nation would be entitled to every month, was found to be a continuous cause of action. The order was passed by a division bench of justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and justice Deepak Manchanda, while hearing a petition filed by the central government against February 22, 2022, order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), Chandigarh, directing to consider the claim of liberalised family pension to one Rukmani Devi, mother of the deceased soldier. Devi's son, who was on duty in Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir, died on October 21, 1991, due to a gunshot fired by a fellow soldier. '...It is manifest that a soldier deployed in a military operation, being shot by a fellow soldier, cannot be in any manner, denied the benefits, which would be applicable to those soldiers who are killed in action,' the court said. The court did not find any merit in the contention that there was a delay in filing the application, as pension, which an employee who served the nation would be entitled to every month, was found to be a continuous cause of action. The AFT had directed the defence ministry to consider the claim for a liberalised family pension to Devi. The liberalised family pension offers higher benefits than the ordinary family pension. The government counsel had argued that the tribunal erred in relying upon a verdict it passed in another case decided on September 4, 2017, though Devi's case was different. It was contended that the family pension in that case was allowed on the fact that the woman's husband, having participated in Operation Parakram, died in the line of duty. It was further contended that there was an inordinate delay of over 25 years in the filing of the claim in 2018, as Devi's son died in 1991. The court, however, held, 'This is to be considered as a 'Battle Casualty' …as the death has taken place during the said operation and there is no dispute that the son of the respondent was indeed deployed in 'Operation Rakshak' at the time of his death….' the court said. It observed that the instructions issued by the ministry of defence in January 2001— pensionary benefits on death/disability in attributable/ aggravated cases, are applicable to all the armed forces personnel, who are deployed in the military operations across India, and the case of the petitioner's family was covered under it.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Soldier's death by fellow soldier qualifies as ‘battle casualty', rules Punjab and Haryana High Court
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld an Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) order granting liberalised family pension to Rukmani Devi, the mother of a soldier who died over three decades ago during Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir. The court dismissed a writ petition by the Union of India challenging the AFT's February 22, 2022, ruling, holding that the soldier's death from friendly fire during an operational deployment qualifies as a 'battle casualty' under the Ministry of Defence's guidelines. Delivering the order on July 16, a division bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Deepak Manchanda said: 'It is manifest that a soldier deployed in a military operation, being shot by a fellow soldier, cannot be in any manner denied the benefits, which would be applicable to those soldiers who are killed in action.' The case arose from the death of Rukmani Devi's son, an Indian Army jawan, who was on duty with Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir when he suffered a fatal gunshot injury on October 21, 1991, fired by another soldier. Army Air Defence Records, through Part-II Order No. 01/BC/05/002 dated August 27, 1992, had categorised his death as a 'battle casualty.' However, the claim for liberalised family pension remained unresolved for decades. In 2018, Rukmani Devi approached the AFT seeking relief. The tribunal directed the government to consider her claim, relying on its own 2017 decision in the case of Harvinder Kaur vs Union of India, where a similar claim was allowed for a widow whose husband had died during Operation Parakram. The Union government appealed, arguing that the cases were not comparable, as Harvinder Kaur's husband had died while the operation was ongoing, whereas Devi's son was killed in 1991. The Centre also objected to the long delay of over 25 years in approaching the tribunal. However, the High Court rejected both arguments. Citing instructions issued by the Ministry of Defence in January 2001, the bench said the benefit of liberalised family pension extends to all armed forces personnel deployed in notified military operations, including those killed by 'acts of violence/attack by extremists, anti-social elements etc' or in other war-like situations. The court reproduced the government's pension categories, noting that the soldier's death fell squarely within Category E of Paragraph 4.1, which covers operational casualties. On the issue of delay, the bench relied on the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in M.L. Patil vs State of Goa, which held that pension entitlements constitute a 'continuous cause of action.' 'There is no justification at all for denying the arrears of pension…,' the Supreme Court had ruled, and the High Court applied the principle to Devi's case. The bench pointed out that the AFT's 2017 ruling in Harvinder Kaur's case has attained finality, strengthening the claim of similarly placed families. The High Court concluded: 'We do not find any illegality in the impugned order passed by the Tribunal. The petition stands dismissed accordingly.' With the dismissal of the Union government's petition, the AFT's order stands, ensuring that Rukmani Devi receives the liberalised family pension due to her for her son's death in service.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Battle casualty benefits apply even if death caused by fellow soldier: HC
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that a soldier killed by a fellow serviceman during a military operation is entitled to the same benefits as those killed in action. Rejecting a central govt plea that sought to deny pension due to a delay in filing the claim, the court held that pension is a continuing cause of action and such entitlements cannot be time-barred, especially when the pension is meant for a family member of a soldier who died in the line of duty. A division bench comprising Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Deepak Manchanda dismissed a petition by the ministry of defence (MoD), which had challenged a Feb 22, 2022, order from the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), Chandigarh. The AFT had directed the MoD to consider the claim for liberalised family pension by Rukmani Devi, mother of the deceased soldier. The liberalised family pension offers higher benefits than the ordinary family pension. The MoD had argued that Rukmani Devi's son died on Oct 21, 1991, leading to an inordinate delay of more than 25 years in filing the application with the AFT in 2018. They further contended that her son did not participate in Operation Parakram. However, after reviewing the case, the bench led by Justice Grewal noted that Rukmani Devi's son was an Indian Army personnel on duty in Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir when he died on Oct 21, 1991, from a firearm injury caused by a fellow soldier's gunshot. In its detailed July 16 order, the high court said, "This is to be considered as a 'Battle Casualty' vide Army Air Defence Records Part-II order No.01/BC/05/002 dated August 27, 1992, as the death took place during the said operation and there is no dispute that the son of the respondent (Rukmani Devi) was indeed deployed in Operation Rakshak at the time of his death." The court highlighted that instructions issued by the Centre, ministry of defence in Jan 2001, apply to all armed forces personnel deployed in military operations across India. These instructions specify that "all disabilities, injuries, accidents, and deaths occurring during operations which are notified by the govt, fall under category 'E' of Para 4.1 of the said instructions." MSID:: 122880408 413 |
The Sun
7 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Upgraded airport fasttrack service launched at KLIA for seamless travel
SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has rolled out an upgraded version of its Airport FastTrack (AFT) service at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), aiming to elevate passenger experience with faster, more personalised airport facilitation. MAHB managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani said the revamped service is part of the airport operator's strategy to strengthen KLIA's reputation as a world-class aviation hub. 'Our upgraded AFT service now offers a holistic meet-and-greet experience, ensuring passengers receive personalised assistance from the moment they arrive. From curbside reception to expedited immigration clearance and baggage assistance, every touchpoint has been meticulously designed to deliver comfort and efficiency,' he said during the AFT Evolution launch. The service now includes a dedicated guest centre and AFT@Connect at Departure Level 5 for added convenience. MAHB has also introduced a new website, to streamline service details and bookings. 'This platform reflects our drive to leverage technology in enhancing service delivery and passenger convenience, with an integrated payment gateway ensuring a smooth and secure experience for all users,' Mohd Izani added. In a surprising move, MAHB unveiled 15-year-old race car driver Sofia Zara Mustaffa Kamal as the new brand ambassador for AFT. Sofia, Malaysia's youngest female racer and a competitor in the 2025 F1 Academy circuit, was chosen for her embodiment of speed and excellence. 'Sofia's determination, skill, and passion for excellence truly embody the essence of 'fast', which is why she is the perfect face for our Airport FastTrack service,' Mohd Izani remarked. Operated by KL Airport Hotels Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of MAHB, AFT KLIA provides priority immigration clearance, dedicated meet-and-greet assistance, and smooth terminal transfers, reinforcing KLIA's commitment to premium service standards. - Bernama
