Core Areas of the Flagship Law Initiative
Civil rights in American law and Jewish law,
With a particular focus on immigrant, reproductive, LGBTQ+, and religious liberty rights, along with forms of race discrimination. We explore the relationship of Jews to the categories of religion and race in American law, and the relationship between religious liberty and other civil rights.
Religious law and democratic governance,
With a particular interest in the Israeli and American constitutional contexts. We explore the different domains that are subject to the jurisdiction of religious law (e.g., family law, business law, labor law, education) and the different modalities that are used to relegate these domains of activity to the jurisdiction of religious law. We explore, for instance, top-down religious “establishments,” officially authorized religious courts vs the use of private arbitration law, and other private law regimes to constitute religious courts and empower religious communities.
Political speech and the antisemitism question,
Addressing questions pertaining to speech about Israel and Zionism (including but not limited to “anti-Israel” and “anti-Zionist” speech) through the intersecting lenses of discrimination law and free speech law. We place a particular emphasis on anti-boycott laws, attempts to legislate a definition of antisemitism, and campus speech. We embed these issues within a deeper inquiry into the place of Jews in the legal history and lived experience of citizenship, belonging and exclusion in the United States.
Laws of war and military occupation
As they pertain to Israel-Palestine, in particular, and American and Israeli military campaigns in the Middle East more generally.
Political self-determination,
Exploring new, old, and alternative Jewish models of national and collective self-determination, including Zionism. We examine the place of these models in the broader history of national liberation movements. Furthermore, we explore alternative visions of future governance forms for Israel-Palestine (i.e. two-state, one-state, federation). Jewish theories of legal/cultural pluralism and their incarnation in the United States will also be treated.
We aim to develop such programming as Continuing Legal Education (CLE) sessions for practicing lawyers, a fellowship for students of law, and conferences. We will also empower our network to write, publish, and speak about their ideas across various forms of media.
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