Resources

This page is intended as a resource for attorneys, scholars and the general public.

If you are aware of a court opinion that you believe would be of interest to AAJLJ members, or you have filed a brief in a case that our members might find of interest, please contact us with details at: [email protected].
Press Releases
Briefs filed on behalf of the AAJLJ

Republic of Hungary, et al. v. Rosalie Simon, et al.

Rosalie Simon and other respondents in this case are Jewish survivors of the Holocaust in Hungary. They sued the Republic of Hungary and other defendants in a US federal court in seeking class certification and class-wide damages for property taken during World War, invoking the expropriation exemption of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The AAJLJ urges that the victims are entitled to pursue their claims in American court under FSIA's plain language.

Islamic Society of Basking Ridge v. Twp of Bernards, (D. N. J.), 16-cv-1369

Plaintiff brought action because the Township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when it denied zoning approval to allow the Plaintiff to build a mosque. The AAJLJ joined the amicus brief of multiple faith groups arising out of the violations of RLUIPA.

Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky v. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Plaintiff

Zivotofsky was born in Jerusalem was denied the ability to have "Israel" listed as the place of birth on his passport, despite Congress enacting a statute providing that Americans born in Jerusalem may elect to have such a listing. The State Department refused to follow that law, citing its policy of not taking a position on the political status of Jerusalem. The AAJLJ argued inter alia that the lower court incorrectly analyzed the documentary status given to a passport in Urtetiqui v. D'Arcy, 34 U.S. 692 (1935).

Anthony Braden Bryan v. Michael W. Moore

The AAJLJ brief addresses the question of whether the mode of execution employed by Florida renders capital punishment "cruel and unusual" in that State. This brief reviews rabbinic doctrines and discussion regarding the methods used in implementing the death penalty and Talmudic law which is concerned with the prevention of unnecessary pain and avoidance of mutilation or dismemberment of the body.

Robert Bartlett v. Dr. Muhammad Baasiri and Jammal Trust Bank SAL

The plaintiffs in this case are American service members who were wounded, and the relatives of service members who were killed or wounded in terrorist attacks carried out in Iraq from 2004 to 2011 by proxies of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. In 2019, Plaintiffs sued several Lebanese banks, on the basis that the banks aided and abetted the attacks by laundering money for Hezbollah. After suit was filed, the United States Department of the Treasury labelled one of those banks, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This designation prompted the Banque du Liban, to liquidate Jammal Trust Bank and acquire its assets. Jammal Trust Bank moved to dismiss the case on the basis that it was entitled to sovereign immunity as an instrumentality of Lebanon.

Federal Republic of Germany v. Alan Phipp

The plaintiffs Gerald Stiebel and Alan Phillip re the blood relatives and successors to the consortium of Jewish art dealers who were threatened and forced by the National Socialist government into selling the Welfenschatz in 1935. The case seeks the immediate restitution of the collection known as the Welfenschatz a.k.a the Guelph Treasure.

Tzvi Weiss v. National Westminster Bank PLC

Plaintiffs are group of approximately 200 U.S. nationals who are victims of attacks by Hamas has asked the Supreme Court to review dismissal of their civil suit against National Westminster Bank PLC that provided financial services to the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund a.k.a. Interpal, a United Kingdom charity that the U.S. listed as a terrorist supporter in 2003 but that has been investigated and cleared by the Charity Commission of England and Wales. The legal issue is what level of knowledge a defendant must have regarding terrorist attacks and associations in order to be held liable for civil damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act, as amended in 2016 by the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
Other legal briefs of interest

IAJLJ Zivotofsky amicus brief

Situation in the State of Palestine

Brief of International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists to the International Criminal Court on August 6, 2024

Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

Written Statement submitted to the International Court of Justice by the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists in the Advisory Proceedings

The Anti-Israeli Academic Boycotts: An International Human Rights Law Perspective

Position Paper by the Iternational Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists

If Everything is Genocide, Nothing is Genocide

Statement by the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL) response to South Africa's ICJ Application Accusing Israel of Genocide
US Court Opinions

Supreme Court: Zivotofsky v. Kerry

Supreme Court: EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch
Israeli Court Opinions

The Cardozo project

Translating Israeli Supreme Court opinions
Resources on Israel

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Report on Operation Protective Edge

(the last Gaza War)

Analysis of Israel's conduct in the Gaza War

Produced by military experts including Richard Kemp
IJL The International Legal Forum National Jewish Advocacy Center Brandeis Center Zachor Legal Institute Decalogue Society of Lawyers Beth Din of America Stand With Us Legal Amcha Initiative HARIF JCRC Tzedek ISGAP Emet

Video of Webinars
Other Resources

Jewish Law

Legal Information Institute at Cornell University

U.S. Department of Justice

Israel Ministry of Justice

Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse

Yad La Isha

Assistance for women who are refused a divorce and are incarcerated

Stand With Us

University of Miami - Guide to Jewish Law

2-volume Jewish Encyclopedia

Originally published between 1901-1906

De Paul Center for Jewish Law & Judaic Studies

The Jewish Law Syllabus Project

Sefaria

The Israeli Supreme Court Project
Media

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