American Bar Association
The American Bar Association Presidential Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, appointed by ABA President Mary Smith in April, is mobilizing the nation’s lawyers and others to combat the growing trend of antisemitism in the U.S.
The task force plans to issue a report in August 2025 “describing the extent and immediacy of the issue and efforts undertaken by the profession to address and ameliorate instances of antisemitism and provide a path of redress,” said Barbara Mendel Mayden, co-chair of the task force.
“Antisemitic violence and hate rise in times of social and political unrest, so it is no surprise that antisemitic episodes in America doubled between 2017 and 2022, and has quadrupled again since then,” said task force co-chair Mark Schickman. “Our task force’s job is to mobilize the ABA, other bars and more than a million American lawyers to stand up to the epidemic of antisemitic hate and bias in communities throughout the country.”
Toward that end, the task force has established working groups in the areas of:
• K-12 education
• Civic and higher education
• Facilitation of programming within the ABA, within the judiciary and with other bar associations, nationally and internationally
• Resources for law firms to raise awareness of antisemitism internally and within their communities
• Monitoring and developing legislation and public policy
• Outreach to other stakeholders, governmental entities and national organizations providing expert resources and expertise
In February 2023 at the ABA Midyear Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a policy condemning antisemitism. Since the adoption of that resolution, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that antisemitism in the United States has climbed to historic levels, noting that “for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the American public, [Jewish people] account for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.”
The ABA Board of Governors voted to create the task force in February.
Earlier this year, Schickman moderated the webinar “How to be an Anti-Antisemite: Responding to the Growth of Antisemitism in 21st Century America,” which provided a wealth of resources on the topic of antisemitism.
Schickman also hosted a CRSJ section Chair Chat with the University of California Berkeley School of Law Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky on Antisemitism and Free Speech: Civil Rights and the Supreme Court.
The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice established a 21-Day Practice on Combating Antisemitism, with the goal for each of us to augment our awareness, empathy, compassion and determination to stand for religious freedom.
“America’s lawyers can be a powerful counterweight to the lies and malice which fuel the current rise in antisemitism,” Mayden and Schickman said. “This task force is working to support, expand and facilitate that important role of standing firm for truth and justice.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/ 2024/07/aba-task-force-to-com bat-antisemitism/)
The American Bar Association Presidential Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, appointed by ABA President Mary Smith in April, is mobilizing the nation’s lawyers and others to combat the growing trend of antisemitism in the U.S.
The task force plans to issue a report in August 2025 “describing the extent and immediacy of the issue and efforts undertaken by the profession to address and ameliorate instances of antisemitism and provide a path of redress,” said Barbara Mendel Mayden, co-chair of the task force.
“Antisemitic violence and hate rise in times of social and political unrest, so it is no surprise that antisemitic episodes in America doubled between 2017 and 2022, and has quadrupled again since then,” said task force co-chair Mark Schickman. “Our task force’s job is to mobilize the ABA, other bars and more than a million American lawyers to stand up to the epidemic of antisemitic hate and bias in communities throughout the country.”
Toward that end, the task force has established working groups in the areas of:
• K-12 education
• Civic and higher education
• Facilitation of programming within the ABA, within the judiciary and with other bar associations, nationally and internationally
• Resources for law firms to raise awareness of antisemitism internally and within their communities
• Monitoring and developing legislation and public policy
• Outreach to other stakeholders, governmental entities and national organizations providing expert resources and expertise
In February 2023 at the ABA Midyear Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a policy condemning antisemitism. Since the adoption of that resolution, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that antisemitism in the United States has climbed to historic levels, noting that “for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the American public, [Jewish people] account for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.”
The ABA Board of Governors voted to create the task force in February.
Earlier this year, Schickman moderated the webinar “How to be an Anti-Antisemite: Responding to the Growth of Antisemitism in 21st Century America,” which provided a wealth of resources on the topic of antisemitism.
Schickman also hosted a CRSJ section Chair Chat with the University of California Berkeley School of Law Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky on Antisemitism and Free Speech: Civil Rights and the Supreme Court.
The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice established a 21-Day Practice on Combating Antisemitism, with the goal for each of us to augment our awareness, empathy, compassion and determination to stand for religious freedom.
“America’s lawyers can be a powerful counterweight to the lies and malice which fuel the current rise in antisemitism,” Mayden and Schickman said. “This task force is working to support, expand and facilitate that important role of standing firm for truth and justice.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/ 2024/07/aba-task-force-to-com bat-antisemitism/)
