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.