About AAJLJ

The American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists (AAJLJ) is a national nonprofit association representing the American Jewish legal community. We bring our community together to defend Jewish interests and human rights in the United States and abroad.

As a voluntary bar association, we engage with legal issues that have an impact on the Jewish and broader world through the lens of Jewish values and tradition. The AAJLJ educates and advocates around critical issues such as: civil rights, human rights, access to justice, social justice, Israel and the Rule of Law, Holocaust issues, and Jewish Law. Through its members, the AAJLJ provides legal support to safeguard human rights and combat antisemitism. In addition, the AAJLJ works to combat those who attempt to use “lawfare” to stigmatize and delegitimize the State of Israel.

our history

The American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists (“AAJLJ”) was founded in 1983
The American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists (“AAJLJ”) was founded in 1983 and is affiliated with the International Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists (“IAJLJ”), a fellowship founded in 1969 by the late Justice Arthur J. Goldberg of the United States Supreme Court, the late Justice Haim Cohen of the Supreme Court of Israel, and René Cassin, French Nobel Laureate and author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The AAJLJ sponsors regular programs featuring speakers and discussions on matters of interest to lawyers nationally and worldwide. It conducts special Jewish-content continuing legal education and other programs including events at annual ABA meetings. AAJLJ programs address the relevance and applicability of Jewish Law to current legal issues such as human rights, national security, free speech and religious liberty.

our programs

Pursuit of Justice Award
The AAJLJ presents an annual "Pursuit of Justice" award to distinguished jurists and attorneys at a ceremony that is held in New York or Washington, DC, including, on occasion, at the United States Supreme Court.
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Community Involvement, Leadership & Activism
The AAJLJ is deeply involved in local, domestic and international issues that affect the Jewish community including freedom of religion, civil rights, access to justice and defense of the rule of law. The AAJLJ also advocates zealously against antisemitism on campus, in the workplace and in the law. Long before the recent cresting wave of hatred the AAJLJ leadership has been campaigning for protections for Jewish students.
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AAJLJ members are encouraged to join one of the AAJLJ’s committees:
Amicus Briefs
On relevant cases the AAJLJ regularly submits briefs to appellate courts, including the Supreme Court, on First Amendment and religious liberty issues. AAJLJ efforts have included filing amicus briefs in cases relating to Holocaust restitution, the unlawful nationalization of Jewish property in Arab countries, the immunity of foreign government officials from civil lawsuits, the recovery of damages under federal anti-terrorism laws from those who finance terrorism, the constitutionality of the death penalty, and the right of an American citizen born in Jerusalem to have “Israel” listed as his/her place of birth on their U.S. passport, among others.Contact Us
Antisemitism Rapid Response
We are often the first port of call to lawyers concerned about antisemitism in various areas. Using emails, letters, social media and telephone calls are deployed to try and effect meaningful change at all levels of corporations, the judiciary, Bar ethics committees and political bodies. Contact Us
Programming and Events
Organized and hosted by the AAJLJ and in conjunction with partner organizations, the in-person lectures, brown bag lunches and webinars are the heartbeat of the AAJLJ. From keeping up to date with matters affecting the Jewish community domestically, through to the ever evolving landscape in Israel, the programming arm of the AAJLJ is particularly strong. Contact Us
Speakers Bureau
The AAJLJ has organized a deep panel of recognized professors, judges and lawyers who are willing to attend and speak to conferences, companies, organizations, and campuses on a variety of topics including: Hate Crimes & Hate Speech, Religious Discrimination, Anti-Terror Statutes, Litigating Antisemitism and Dealing with Campus Unrest: Law and Policy. Contact Us
Student Engagement
AAJLJ’s student division organizes events, networking, mentoring and educational opportunities for AAJLJ law students and young professionals. Contact Us
Missions to Israel
The AAJLJ runs missions to Israel specifically tailored to the interests of the Jewish American law community, including meetings with prominent Israeli legal leaders, such as Supreme Court justices, government officials, law professors, legal and policy commentators, and leading attorneys, from across the Israeli political, religious and ethnic spectrum.
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In an effort to better understand the Israeli perspective on various legal and political issues, the AAJLJ annually organizes a mission to Israel for meetings with government officials, ambassadors, lawyers in the public and private sector, Judges, media figures and academic experts. Issues discussed have included the Nation-State law; challenges to the authority and power of the Israeli Supreme Court; Israel's presence in the West Bank and actions at the Gaza border; and conflicts between civil law and religious law. In the role of the AAJLJ as a representative of both the American Jewish and legal communities, it is necessary that we have a fundamental understanding of these issues which impact the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community.

People with whom we have met during previous missions include:
Aharon Barak
Aharon Barak is an Israeli lawyer, professor and former justice of the Israeli Supreme Court. He presided over the High Court from 1995 to 2006.
Daniel Reisner
Daniel Reisner joined Herzog Fox & Neeman in 2008 as the firm's Public International Law, Defence and Homeland Security partner. Daniel is widely-recognized as one of Israel's leading Public International Law experts and served as Legal Counsel to the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army. Most recently, Daniel defended the State of Israel against claims of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Attorney Yifa Segal
Attorney Yifa Segal is currently the Director of the International Legal Forum (ILF), a non-profit proactive legal hub dedicated to the global cooperation between lawyers, organizations and activists from all over the world.
Salim Joubran, OBM
Salim Joubran was an Israeli Arab and former Justice of the High Court of Israel. He served as a Supreme Court justice from 2003 to 2018.
Professor Suzie Navot
Suzie Navot is an Israeli professor of constitutional law and parliamentary law. She teaches at the College of Management Academic Studies, and the Striker School of Law, in Rishon Lezion, Israel
Rabbi Uri Regev
Rabbi Uri Regev is an internationally renowned leader and advocate of religious liberty and the liberal movements of Judaism in his native Israel and around the world. Currently Rabbi Regev serves as the President and CEO of "Hiddush - For Freedom of Religion and Equality".
Dr. Guy Luri
Dr. Guy Lurie is a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute. Dr. Lurie's publications are in the fields of French history, legal history of Israel and Europe, and history of political thought, as well as on various aspects of the operation of the judiciary, the prosecution and the attorney general.
Dr. Amir Fuchs
Dr. Amir Fuchs, also a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lecturer in the Politics and Communication Department at the School of Government and Social Sciences at Hadassah Academic College. From 2005 to 2011, he served as a member of the Minister of Justice's Commission for Amending the Israeli Homicide Law.
Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Sa'ar is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the political party Likud between 2003 and 2014. During his time in government, he held the posts of Cabinet Secretary, Chairman of the Coalition and Minister of the Interior and Education. Sa’ar served as Minister of Justice from 2021-2022.
Elyakim Rubinstein
Elyakim Rubinstein is a former Vice President of the Supreme Court of Israel. Beforehand, he served as the Attorney General of Israel from 1997 to 2004.
Alan Baker
Alan Baker is Director of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and Israel's former Ambassador to Canada provided a legal overview of the disputes concerning the settlements with particular attention to the Oslo Accords, stating that the Palestinians agreed that the fate of the settlements would be determined in a future peace agreement.