One of the most famous Jewish lawyers of our time, Alan Dershowitz, wrote a book about Abraham, whom he sees as the first Jewish lawyer, “the patriarch of the legal profession: a defense lawyer for the damned who is willing to risk everything, even the wrath of God, in defense of his clients,” the founder not just of monotheism but of a long line of Jewish lawyers. Dershowitz gives a vivid description of Abraham’s prayer on behalf of the people of Sodom (“Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?” [Gen. 18:25]) as a courtroom drama, with Abraham acting as lawyer for the citizens of the town, and G-d, as it were, as the accused. This was the forerunner of a great many such episodes in Torah and Tanach, in which the prophets argued the cause of justice with G-d and with the people.
In modern times, Jews reached prominence as judges in America—among them Brandeis, Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. In Britain between 1996 and 2008, two of Britain’s three Lord Chief Justices were Jewish: Peter Taylor and Harry Woolf. In Germany in the early 1930s, though Jews were 0.7 percent of the population, they represented 16.6 percent of lawyers and judges.” (“Why Are There So Many Jewish Lawyers?” Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks)
Today, 50% of New York City’s lawyers are Jewish and there are hundreds of thousands of Jewish lawyers throughout the world, beyond their percentage of the population wherever they reside.
The laws’ interpreters differentiate and make a distinction between supporting violent consequences and the actual committing of violence. Even those demonstrators or activists who fantasize and want to see all Jews dead are, in their view, protected by their first amendment right to free speech, as long as their actions are unconnected to actual violence. But incitement to violence is not protected by free speech.
This widespread interpretation of the First Amendment defies the lessons of 9/11 and the massacre perpetuated by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Pro-Hamas supporters who support genocide against Jews and the State of Israel, such as those who chant “From the river to the sea” or “Globalize the intifada,” on campuses and on the streets of American cities can and have crossed the blurred line between free speech, speech promoting violence, and committing actual violence. In their minds participating in such acts themselves has become justifiable and held up as an understandable reaction to Israel’s war of self-defense on Hamas.
If the barbaric acts of Hamas murderers, rapists, and kidnappers are emulated and glorified by these pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian Arab supporters, then what prevents them from crossing the line into domestic terrorism as we have seen over the past year? The growing list of hate crimes, shootings, knifings, physical attacks, arson, and vandalism against Jews and Jewish institutions from those who sympathize with Hamas, the Palestinian Arabs, and their political goals has already shown us that the line that separates rhetoric calling for violence against Jews and domestic terrorism no longer exists. Instead we are witnesses to unlimited examples of judicial appeasement and non-existent police enforcement culminating in a general atmosphere of Jew hatred becoming the new norm. Should you decide to simply walk around town in the West as an identifiable Jew, you are literally endangering your life. It seems as if the judicial system and the enforcement authorities are simply unconcerned when it comes to protecting the Jews of America, England, Australia, and the European continent.
Despite pro-Hamas supporters continuing their disruption of campus life for Jewish as well as non-Jewish students, and the disruption of free movement on the streets and roadways of America, and other major cities of the world; why does the Jewish communal world, the major Jewish organizations that raise well over a billion dollars a year for Jewish causes, seem unable or unwilling to implement a coordinated and effective legal response to hold those committing violence against the Jews accountable by compelling local, state, and federal district attorneys, police authorities, the FBI, and other relevant federal authorities to act. These legal, enforcement, and judicial authorities can discourage and create the necessary deterrence by investigating the very real threat of domestic terror by Hamas and pro-Palestinian Arab supporters.
Over the past four years, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice has shown little, if any, interest in investigating and holding the tens of thousands of pro-Hamas demonstrators, activists, and sympathizers legally accountable for their actions. The major Jewish organizations have refrained from enlisting a small army of Jewish lawyers to petition district attorneys, public prosecutors, FBI investigative teams, and the judiciary system to do their job and criminalize the surge of antisemitism and Jew hatred. Why the hesitancy? Are major Jewish organizations, who themselves are closely aligned with the Democratic Party and many of today’s progressive policies, unwilling to question their blind allegiance to a worldview that has been formed by toxic radical anti-Jew ideologies? The liberal and progressive mainstream in the judiciary, in the media, and in academia who insist on treating these pro-Hamas and anti-Jew supporters as nothing more than well-meaning “idealists” has to be challenged and Jew haters need to know that there are consequences for their actions.
At the forefront of demanding legal accountability are two niche organizations that were brought to my attention: “The Lawfare Project,” established by attorney Brooke Goldstein, serves as a legal think tank and litigation fund to uphold the civil and human rights of the Jewish people, and “The Deborah Project,” founded by attorney Lori Lowenthal Marcus, use legal skills and tools to uncover, publicize. and dismantle antisemitic abuses in educational systems, with the aim of bringing wrongdoers to justice and deterring future abuses.
Major Jewish organizations themselves must be held accountable for not challenging the progressive legal world to do their job and start indicting and jailing those Hamas supporters who have crossed the line from free speech to incitement to violence and often, the violence itself. Federal and state laws can easily be applied against those participating in hate crimes and domestic terrorism against Jews. The lack of initiative by these major Jewish organizations is appallingly apparent and must stop now. Jews are threatened daily; Jews can no longer depend on the law to protect them, and Jews are being blamed for being the victims of this hatred. n
Ron Jager grew up in the South Bronx of New York, making aliyah in 1980. Ron is a 25-year veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, where he served as a field mental-health officer and as commander of the central psychiatric military clinic for reserve soldiers at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring from active duty, he has been providing consultancy services to NGOs, implementing psychological trauma and psychological education programs to communities in the North and South of Israel. Ron served as a strategic adviser to the chief foreign envoy of Judea and Samaria. To contact him, e-mail medconf@gmail.com. Read more of Ron Jager’s articles at 5TJT.com.
