About the 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. 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 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.