On February 21-22, the Louis D. Brandeis Center hosted its third annual National Law Student Leadership Conference in Berkeley, California. The conference brought together 26 law student leaders from 14 law schools across the country, and educated these students on topics including civil rights law; international law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict; international anti-Semitism and the European response; and how to use legal tools to combat anti-Semitism and the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, while in law school and in their future legal careers. Additionally, the students were presented with networking opportunities amongst their peers, attorneys, and legal scholars.

“The LDB conference provided me with a comprehensive overview of anti-Semitism and methods to combat such bigotry in a very brief two-day period,” said Saman Azimtash (Univ. of Minnesota, JD ’18, MBA ’19). “It was an incredibly stimulating and educational conference.”

Students were given the opportunity to engage with each other in a dialogue about the issues facing them as aspiring lawyers and proponents of civil rights through a series of lectures, panels, and roundtable discussions. With several prominent figures in academia, government and professional law as guest speakers and fellow attendees, law students where also given an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and participate in discussions with multiple legal experts.

Law students from LDB chapters at UC Berkeley, Penn, Emory, University of Virginia, and many others were in attendance in addition to students in the process of forming their own chapters. The LDB law student chapter initiative, launched in 2014, has since expanded to 18 chapters nationwide. LDB chapters fill an important gap in American legal education, offering educational programming that connects students’ legal education to pressing Jewish civil rights issues.

Many of the students in attendance were members of their chapter’s leadership board. The conference’s speakers covered a variety of legal and political topics relating to the Brandeis Center’s mission: empowering student leadership, federal protection of the civil rights of Jewish students, and fighting anti-Semitism so that the culture on American college campuses can change into one where anti-Semitism is taken as seriously as other forms of discrimination.

The conference kicked off with LDB staff attorney Aviva Vogelstein, and UC Berkeley Law Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon, addressing the students at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union building at UC Berkeley. After Vogelstein welcomed the students and guests to the conference, Professor Solomon began the event by encouraging the students, telling them “you are our future.” He urged participants to start playing the offensive rather than the defensive when it comes to fighting anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli activity on campus. Professor Solomon illustrated that how, even though Israel experiences difficulties like many other nations, the Israeli state is doing well as one of the countries with the most freedoms in its region, and has come a long way. He went on to discuss the disturbing movement of anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe, as well as how academic discourse over the state of Israel has turned into “political venom”. Noting how anti-Semitism has been “dressed up as pseudo-academic jargon”, he explained how such rhetoric ignored the facts. He left the audience with two questions to remember throughout the conference: ‘How do we stand up and tell the facts’, and ‘how can we protect the next generation?’

LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus then gave opening remarks, noting the importance of the conference’s location. He stated how it was fitting to have a civil rights conference in a building named after a great civil rights leader, who fought for fair housing, for the end of segregation, and against anti-Semitism. Dr. King once said: “when people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism.” Marcus went on to explain how our location was also near the site of where Mario Savio, one of the key members of the Berkeley Free Speech movement, made his famous “Bodies Upon the Gears” speech. Then decades later in the same spot, a young Jewish student, Jessica Felber, who did just that as she held up an “Israel wants Peace” sign, was assailed by a shopping cart pushed towards her by an anti-Israel student. Marcus then noted the alarming joint report by LDB and Trinity College, which revealed that 54% of the Jewish students surveyed had experienced anti-Semitism on their campuses during the 2013-14 academic year. He explained the trends in anti-Semitism in the United States, as well as globally, and discussed how the spillover effects from movements such as BDS can create a hostile environment for Jewish students. Marcus also detailed how legal advocacy can be a step to raising public awareness of such incidents and how LDB chapters play a critical role in the fight against campus anti-Semitism. “What students glean from conference,” Marcus stated, “is for their clients in the future, for current undergrads that they may mentor, and for their communities, as it will be important for them to support those who take a stand against discrimination.”

Marcus and Vogelstein then gave a workshop on Title VI, and discussed how students could combat campus anti-Semitism and BDS at their universities. This workshop was aimed at explaining the protections offered by Title VI, and educating the students on legal strategies they can utilize against anti-Semitism, as well as legal tools on the both federal and state levels available to them. The workshop also gave an engaging exercise on what constitutes a Title VI case, which gave students the opportunity to challenge their knowledge and discuss examples with each other. To conclude her presentation, Vogelstein explained how BDS campaigns can violate school rules with their actions, such as illegal flyering, unlawful access to dorms, breaking ‘time, place, and manner’ rules, and restricting pedestrian access during their demonstrations.

After the workshop, participants headed to a delicious dinner at the Great Hall inside of the Bancroft Hotel, where they were treated to remarks by Arthur Zeidman, Regional Director of the U.S Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and an address by Joel Siegel, attorney at Joel H. Siegal and Associated Council and member of LDB’s Legal Advisory Board. Zeidman highlighted how it is important to record incidents of anti-Semitism that students may see on their campuses. He explained how documentation can make a difference in a case, and urged students to “be strong, be brave.” Siegal then gave an informative address entitled “Using the Courts to Address Anti-Semitism, Racism and Bullying at Schools and Universities,” that drew upon his extensive experience. He detailed several cases that he had represented, such as the case of Jessica Felber, and explained their backgrounds, strategies, as well as outcomes. He encouraged students to be more proactive and to become involved in their student governments so that they may help to make an impact.

The next morning’s events began with President Marcus and Vogelstein’s discussion of LDB chapter activities, such as the Brandeis Center’s impressive and extensive list of speakers that can be invited for events at each chapter’s university, as well as other chapter programs and functions. Vogelstein also explained the many opportunities LDB offers its law students, such as pro bono research and career opportunities, including summer clerkships and post-grad fellowships. She also discussed how chapters play an important role in helping LDB monitor college campuses and in achieving strong administrator responses.

 

Avi Bell, a professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law, then gave an enlightening presentation on “International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Professor Bell debunked the myths that Israel is the worst violator of international law and human rights, by noting the Human Rights rankings by Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy worldwide. As shown on their website and in their rankings, Israel has the most freedoms in the region and in terms of its human rights record, has 172 countries ranked below it. He explained how the cause for international law is often used as the rhetoric of choice to justify anti-Israel and anti-Jewish actions. He argued that Israel should not be singled out, and explained how there are many counties who do not comply with or have violated international law, including the United States. Bell also noted that for proponents of BDS and other anti-Israel movements, the ultimatum of “…until Israel complies with international law” is an empty one, as no action will be satisfactory enough for them. Professor Bell told the audience that it is important to know the facts, and concluded his speech by encouraging them to investigate and educate themselves about the issues, as well as to go on the offensive rather than be in the defensive.

The final speaker of the conference was Dr. Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, a Senior Researcher at the Poznan Human Rights Centre, and Institute of Legal Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Dr. Gliszczyńska-Grabias began her presentation, entitled “Anti-Israel Hatred and Discrimination: Legal Response in Europe,” by discussing the resurgence of anti-Semitism in recent years in Europe. In one incident that occurred on November 1, 2015, the burning of a Jewish effigy during an anti-refugee rally in Poland, much like the burnings of effigies of Jews during pre-WWII Europe, was not met with legal penalties thereafter despite strict laws. She detailed how there are many laws present to fight hatful and discriminatory actions in Europe, and explained, however, that a crucial problem is with their implementation.

After a short coffee break and conference photo session, Professor Davidoff Solomon, Avi bell, Joel Siegal and Michael Kleinmen, a former Brandeis Center Legal Fellow, came together for a Career Panel in which they provided advice for students and insights into their occupation. Each panelist described what lead them to their career path and discussed their experiences. The panelists encouraged participants to pursue what interests them or is meaningful to them. When asked how one can stay involved in the fight against anti-Semitism if they an unrelated profession or if they are away from an active environment, the panelists advised students to remain active in their local communities and to share their knowledge. They encouraged students to become a resource for their community, and stated that law could be used as a vehicle for change.

The last event of the conference was a student-led roundtable discussion led by Melanie Goldberg (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law), Bethany Hanson (Saint Thomas School of Law), and Jaclyn Newman (Cornell Law School). Each of the three panelists is an accomplished board member of their chapter. Goldberg founded an LDB chapter at Cardozo after the Brandeis Center represented her as an undergrad after she was wrongfully ejected from an anti-Israel event. Hanson had organized many of the events of the LDB Saint Thomas chapter, including a weeklong WWII Symposium that had the participation of every student organization. Newman co-spearheaded the Statement in Support of Professor Ami Pedahzur, an Israel Studies professor at the University of Texas at Austin who had been assailed by anti-Israel activists for his effort to host an academic presentation on the Israeli Defense Forces. The panelists began the session by discussing how they became involved in LDB and as well as the work their chapters have accomplished. They then were able to answer questions on how to establish chapters, events and activities, and exchange ideas with their peers.

Throughout the conference, students spoke highly of the event and its speakers, they also enjoyed the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with one another. Talia Shifron, a 1L at Chicago Loyola, commented that she “liked learning about international law” and the implementation of European law from this conference. Asher Herzog, a 3L at Harvard, found the speakers to be very helpful and felt that what they had discussed during the conference was “valuable to any law student.” Asher is now returning home to start an LDB chapter at Harvard. Talia Schwartz, founder of LDB’s Berkeley chapter, commented that, “the conference was great. I feel like I learned a lot.” Schwartz went on to say that she feels more informed and has “learned important tools that can be used” to fight back against anti-Semitism.