CAIR-NY Calls on NYPD to Ban ‘Racist’ Training Labeling Palestinian Keffiyeh, Watermelon ‘Symbols of Hate’
Credit: Pexels/Matteo Modica
Muslim civil rights and advocacy group calls on NYPD to cut ties with anti-Palestinian trainers, host corrective training for officers and affirm respect for Palestinian civil rights.
(NEW YORK, NY, 4/25/25) – The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), the nation’s leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) training that reportedly falsely labeled Palestinian cultural symbols - including the keffiyeh, a centuries-old emblem of Palestinian heritage and broader Arab identity, and the watermelon, which became a symbol of Palestinian solidarity after Israel's draconian banning of the public display of the Palestinian flag - as “symbols of hate.”
CAIR-NY also called on the NYPD to apologize to the Palestinian-American community, ban future trainings by the anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic groups Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and George Washington University’s Program on Extremism (POE), host corrective trainings for impacted officers, and pledge to respect the civil rights of Palestinian-Americans and activists opposed to the genocide in Gaza.
CAIR-NY said that by conflating expressions of Palestinian identity with extremism, this dangerous misrepresentation furthers Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism, viewpoint discrimination, and the criminalization of peaceful political expression.
The discriminatory and anti-Palestinian training session was reportedly led by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and George Washington University’s Program on Extremism (POE).
In a statement, CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, Esq. said:
“CAIR-NY strongly condemns the NYPD’s participation in a hateful and dangerous training led by notoriously anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic groups, the Combat Antisemitism Movement and George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. By falsely labeling the Palestinian keffiyeh and watermelon as symbols of hate, these groups taught plain racism to NYPD officers and resurrected the long, shameful history of the NYPD treating Muslim and Arab religious and cultural practices as national security threats.
"By engaging in this hateful training, the NYPD is not protecting New Yorkers but is instead endangering the physical safety and free speech rights of New York Muslims, Palestinians, and anti-genocide protestors.
"We demand an immediate end to the NYPD’s involvement with CAM, POE, or any group promoting anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim bigotry. We also demand that the NYPD publicly affirm that it will not treat cultural symbols such as the keffiyeh, the Palestinian flag, or the watermelon as indicators of antisemitism, extremism, or hate, and that it will host corrective training for officers.
"We further call on the New York City Council and Mayor’s Office to reject these discriminatory practices, condemn this anti-Palestinian training, and launch a full investigation into how these materials were authorized and presented to law enforcement.
"New Yorkers deserve a police department that protects all communities equally, not one that imports hate and endangers lives under the false banner of combating antisemitism.”
Given these alarming developments, CAIR-NY demands that:
The NYPD immediately end its participation in trainings led by the anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic groups Combat Antisemitism Movement, and the George Washington Program on Extremism, or any other entity promoting the false equivalence of Palestinian identity or advocacy with hate or extremism;
The NYPD publicly affirms that it will not treat cultural symbols such as the keffiyeh, the Palestinian flag, or the watermelon as indicators of antisemitism or hate;
The New York City Council and the Mayor’s Office reject these discriminatory training practices and launch a full public investigation into how these materials were authorized and presented to law enforcement.
Why the NYPD Should Have Never Partnered with the Discredited GWU Program on Extremism
A basic review should have made clear that the NYPD should never have partnered with groups like the Combat Antisemitism Movement or George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. In March 2024, a lawsuit was filed against GWU by Dr. Farid Hafez, an Austrian Muslim scholar and professor, charging the Program and its director, Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, with carrying out a malicious smear campaign by “constructing and disseminating false narratives linking [Hafez and others] to the Muslim Brotherhood.” A report authored by Vidino reportedly formed the basis for a 2020 Austrian police operation that raided dozens of Muslim homes and organizations and was later ruled unlawful by Austrian courts.
GWU’s continued employment of Dr. Vidino, who researchers at Georgetown University have been connected to anti -Muslim think tanks in the United States and Europe, reflects either tacit approval or institutional indifference to Islamophobia. That the NYPD would expose its officers to training materials produced by such discredited and discriminatory actors highlights the department’s ongoing failure to reform and its dangerous persistence in targeting Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities under the false guise of public safety.
Another Example of NYPD Endangering Muslims, Arabs, and Students
CAIR-NY further emphasized that this latest training must be seen in the context of the NYPD’s long and well-documented history of targeting Muslim communities through unlawful surveillance, profiling, and discrimination. Following revelations that the NYPD’s Intelligence Division mapped Muslim neighborhoods, infiltrated mosques with informants, spied on student associations, and profiled American Muslims based solely on their Islamic faith, the City of New York was forced to settle major civil rights lawsuits, including Raza v. City of New York and modifications to the Handschu Guidelines.
CAIR-NY noted that this is not the first time the NYPD has been blasted for using biased training materials. In 2012, CAIR-NY and other community organizations blasted the NYPD and called for the resignation of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly for using a discriminatory video, The Third Jihad, as part of their training.
Over the past two years, CAIR-NY has documented new waves of NYPD misconduct, including the brutal public assaults and forced hijab removals of Muslim women peacefully protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza. ECBAWM recently filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of CAIR-NY and Muslim women who were strangled with their hijabs, publicly humiliated, and physically abused by NYPD officers. One woman described being choked by her hijab so violently she could not breathe, while another was dragged across the pavement with her headscarf ripped off, exposing her in violation of her religious rights.
Separately, in February 2025, CAIR-NY secured policy reforms from the City of New York after a Muslim diabetic detainee was denied both halal food and the ability to pray while in NYPD custody. Chowdhury suffered severe medical complications due to the NYPD’s failure to accommodate his religious and medical needs. As part of the settlement, the NYPD agreed to revise its Patrol Guide policies to require officers to determine and accommodate religious dietary restrictions for individuals in custody.
These recent abuses, combined with the discriminatory and anti-Palestinian training revealed this month, demonstrate that the NYPD continues to operate under a fundamentally flawed, biased, and unconstitutional model of policing that views Muslim identity, Palestinian solidarity, and dissent as security threats.
CAIR-NY will continue to demand accountability and advocate for the civil rights, religious freedoms, and dignity of all New Yorkers. Its mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR-NY es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, Esq., CAIR-NY Executive Director, CAIR-NY, 917-669-4006, anasher@cair.com;
CAIR-NY Communications Team, comms@ny.cair.com