The Harris 2024 campaign has appointed Nasrina Bargzie as a new outreach leader to engage Muslim and Arab voters, according to NBC News on Tuesday. This move has already sparked controversy due to her past statements about Israel and Jewish students.
The appointee, who previously served as a policy adviser in Vice President Kamala Harris’s White House office, is best known for her contentious views on issues related to Israel and Palestinian statehood, which have drawn both criticism and praise.
In a series of statements and writings, she has dismissed Jewish students’ concerns over antisemitism as “organized legal bullying.” These concerns were raised in response to lawsuits filed by Jewish students against universities over what they perceived as hostile anti-Israel rhetoric on campus.
The new outreach leader argued that these lawsuits were attempts to silence pro-Palestinian activism, asserting that such actions, including calls for the destruction of Israel, were not threatening but rather legitimate expressions of political speech.
Bargzie, born in Kandahar, Afghanistan, lived in a war zone during the Soviet-Afghan War and later spent three years as a refugee in Pakistan before relocating to California in 1985. She graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2005 and was a member of the Order of the Coif.
Bargzie clerked for Judge William A. Fletcher and worked on national security and civil rights issues at the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice. She also lectured at Stanford Law School. As associate counsel to Vice President Kamala Harris, she advised on Muslim, Arab, and Gaza Strip issues and contributed to policy on reproductive rights, voting, and democracy.
Her controversial stance extended to her defense of extreme student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). SJP has been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian activism on many university campuses across the United States. The group is known for organizing events like “Israeli Apartheid Week,” where they highlight what they describe as Israel’s human rights abuses against Palestinians.
These events often include the erection of mock “apartheid walls,” distribution of mock eviction notices to mimic the experiences of Palestinians in the West Bank, and the staging of mock checkpoints to simulate the Israeli military’s presence in Palestinian territories.
In 2013, Bargzie served as the Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus attorney. She was one of the attorneys who caused the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to close three investigations against three University of California schools, which alleged that Palestinian rights activism created an antisemitic climate.
“The organized legal bullying campaigns have failed,” Bargzie said in 2013 after advocating for the students “whose activism was scrutinized in the investigations,” an official statement said.
These activities have led to significant controversy. Many Jewish students and organizations view these events as not only politically charged but also as contributing to a hostile environment on campuses. However, the new Harris campaign appointee has defended SJP’s right to conduct these activities, arguing that they fall under the umbrella of protected political speech and should not be conflated with hate speech or harassment.
She has been critical of federal investigations into these campus activities, suggesting that such inquiries can suppress free speech rather than protect students from harassment.
Insufficient protection of the First Amendment?
The appointee’s defense of these actions is rooted in her broader belief that the US Department of Education’s handling of civil rights complaints related to Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been insufficiently protective of First Amendment interests. In a co-authored article, “Talking Israel and Palestine on Campus: How the U.S. Department of Education can Uphold the Civil Rights Act and the First Amendment”, she argued that the department’s approach contributed to a chilling effect on university campuses, discouraging robust discussions about Israel, Palestinian statehood, and US foreign policy.
“The complaints filed under Title VI often lack substantial evidence of harassment, focusing instead on ‘pure political speech and expressive conduct’ that is constitutionally protected,” she co-wrote, highlighting what she sees as the misuse of legal frameworks to target political speech, implying an organized effort to suppress certain viewpoints.
She also wrote: “The threat of OCR investigations forces universities to ‘tread carefully’ and sometimes leads to self-censorship or overregulation of student activities.” This statement suggests that the legal pressure exerted by these complaints can bully institutions into restricting speech to avoid potential investigations.
“Organizations that have filed or threatened these complaints have paraded this chilling effect as a victory, even when the complaints turn out to be factually meritless or legally unfounded,” she claimed – implying an organized effort to use legal mechanisms as a tool for intimidation, regardless of the validity of the claims.
“The stigma and chilling effect associated with these complaints and investigations has a disproportionate impact on Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian community members, many of whom are actively engaged with this issue on campuses.” She discusses how the strategic use of legal complaints disproportionately affects marginalized communities, reinforcing the idea of legal bullying.
Last week, FrontPage Magazine, a far-right news publication, critiqued Bargzie. The magazine claimed that “In 2001 while attending college, she was interrogated by the FBI about comments she had made to her friends. It’s unknown what she said, but it was enough to scare her friends in one of the most liberal parts of the country to report her to law enforcement.” The magazine didn’t provide any evidence or sources for this claim.
The piece further argued that Bargzie has a history of defending individuals and groups associated with Islamic terrorism, including involvement with the ACLU and Council on American-Islamic Relations – this is sourced and based on public information. The journalist David Greenfield highlighted her actions in defending Hamas supporters and her opposition to investigations into antisemitism on college campuses. He also questioned how she passed a background check for her role in the administration, given her history and family ties to Afghanistan.
According to Greenfield, “After benefiting from the Refugee Resettlement program, she blamed America for having created the refugees.”
The journalist claimed that “Nasrina Bargzie accused Jewish students and organizations of ‘organized legal bullying’ for suing universities.” He also later asserted that “She passed the background check because those running the checks no longer view Islamic terrorism as a red flag.”
The article portrayed Bargzie as a troubling figure within the administration, raising concerns about her influence and the broader implications for national security and relations with the Jewish community
"Nasrina helped implement the country's first strategy to combat antisemitism in the White House. We are proud to add her to the campaign," Kamala Harris's Campaign Spokesperson Lauren Hitt said.
Alex Pascal, former special assistant to President Biden, lead drafter of antisemitism strategy also commented, saying, "Nasrina was an important partner in our development of the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. She was thoughtful and committed to the work of fighting anti-Jewish hate."