Podcasts about human rights under law

Has Antisemitism Gone Mainstream?

Due to impending inclement weather this event has been converted to a webinar. Please feel free to join our live (virtual) audience on Wednesday, February 12th at 12:30 PM ET via the Zoom registration link or catch the discussion via livestream! Panel: David BernsteinFounder & CEO, Jewish Institute for Liberal Values Kimberly Hermann, Executive Director, Southeastern Legal Foundation Prof. Yascha Mounk, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University;Contributing Editor, The Atlantic; Senior Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations Nicole Neily, President, Parents Defending Education (Moderator) Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman,Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law ---Does DEI rise and fall due to cultural fads that tend to come and go, or is DEI mainly driven by substantive provisions of civil rights law that are much harder to unravel? Are DEI programs morphing from a primarily race-based focus to a gender and sex-based focus, or does their focus remain on race and ethnicity? This panel will discuss how DEI is impacting federal civil rights issues, consider federal, state, and local levels, and debate whether DEI has passed its high-water mark. Featuring:David Bernstein, Founder & CEO, Jewish Institute for Liberal ValuesKimberly Hermann, Executive Director, Southeastern Legal FoundationProf. Yascha Mounk, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University; Contributing Editor, The Atlantic; Senior Fellow, The Council on Foreign RelationsNicole Neily, President, Parents Defending Education(Moderator) Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

Ken Stern (Director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate) joins Amna and Jeff to discuss these urgent questions: Are campuses hotbeds of antisemitism? How do we define antisemitism in the first place? Is there a difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism? How have colleges handled the student protests around Gaza? Why are so many higher education institutions facing Title VI lawsuits? What counts as a “hostile” campus environment? How should we educate students about the Israel/Palestine conflict? Show Notes* International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism* Kenneth Marcus, director of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, explains why universities and colleges should adopt the IHRA definition* Ken Stern, bio (Bard; Wikipedia); see also this New Yorker profile* Stern, The Conflict over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate (University of Toronto Press, 2020)* Bard College Center for the Study of Hate* On quotas for Jewish students in higher education, see Jerome Karabel, The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton* Stern complements Wesleyan President Michael Roth for how he handled student protests—see Roth's New York Times op-ed from the fall of 2024, “I'm a College President, and I Hope My Campus Is Even More Political This Year”* Here is the poll that Stern mentions about how Jewish and Muslim students understand the phrase “from the river to the sea”* full text of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, including Title VI* 2004 “Dear Colleague” Letter on Title VI and Title IX Religious Discrimination in Schools and Colleges from the Office of Civil Rights * On how the Office of Civil Rights currently defines a “hostile environment,” see this 2023 “Dear Colleague” Letter on Shared Ancestry * Donald J. Trump, Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism, December 11, 2019* Here is the op-ed where Jared Kushner declares that “Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism”: “President Trump Is Defending Jewish Students,” New York Times, December 11, 2019* Donald J. Trump, Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, January 29, 2025. See also this White House “Fact Sheet” and Len Gutkin's dispatch on the E.O. in the Chronicle of Higher Education* The U.S. Department of Education maintains a list of pending Title VI cases here* Crimson coverage of Harvard's decision to adopt the IHRA definition available here and here* on publishing Mein Kampf in Germany in 2016 for the first time since World War II, see coverage in the Guardian here and here * On how Whitefish, Montana responded to a proposed march by white supremacists in 2016/17, see this New York Times article, “How a Small Town Silenced a Neo-Nazi Hate Campaign” * We have written several pieces on student activism and the War in Gaza—see:* “Colleges Are Cracking Down on Free Speech in the Name of ‘Inclusion'”* “Student Activism is Integral to the Mission of Academe” &* “Campus Protests Don't Undermine the College Mission”* The Chronicle of Higher Education has had some great coverage of the debates surrounding the IHRA definition; see here, here and here * on “hate speech” laws, see Nadine Strossen's superb 2018 book, HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship* On the perils of confusing criticism of a government with attacks against a particular nationality, ethnicity or race, see this Chronicle Review piece about the censorship of a Chinese artist at George Washington University in 2022* For a data-driven analysis of the state of antisemitism in the U.S. on campuses and beyond, see this piece by Stony Brook University sociologist Musa al-Gharbi This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit banished.substack.com/subscribe

Lawless uses the author, Ilya Shapiro’s, “lived experience” with Georgetown as a jumping-off point to discuss what he describes as the warping of legal education and the legal profession. He argues that law schools used to teach students how to think critically, advance logical arguments, and respect opponents. Now they produce lawyers who can’t tolerate disagreement and reject the validity of the law itself. He claims the problem is bigger than radical students and biased faculty; it’s institutional weakness. Law schools produce the next generation of gatekeepers for our legal and political institutions: America’s future judges, prosecutors, politicians, and presidents. Shapiro argues it’s a big deal and discusses the failure of ideology, leadership, and bureaucracy—and what we can do about it.Featuring: Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow and Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute(Moderator) Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

“Despite decades of a US Department of Education, we're not doing any better in educating our students. If anything, we're now doing worse ... I think the question is how the American people can best be served. The goal shouldn't be to preserve jobs of bureaucrats. The goal shouldn't be to preserve the status quo. We should ask, how can we best serve students and their families?”As part of our special series on the U.S. presidential transition period, I'm sitting down with Kenneth L. Marcus, former assistant secretary of education for civil rights and the founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Discussions of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have long included concerns about AI systems’ potential to discriminate against racial minorities, women, and other groups said to be disadvantaged. But more recently, there have been increasing concerns about the dangers of Woke AI. Because generative AI models learn from large amounts of real-world data, which is primarily gleaned from internet content and thus tends to reflect dominant cultural views, is some degree of political bias in these models inevitable? If not, what can be done to avoid such bias?Increasingly, politicians and other policymakers are proposing laws, regulations, and guidelines aimed at preventing bias against minority groups in AI systems. Do we need similar laws to protect against the biases of Woke AI and if so, what should those laws look like?Please join us as an expert panel discusses these questions and more.Featuring:Prof. Vincent Conitzer, Professor of Computer Science & Director, Foundations of Cooperative AI Lab (FOCAL), Carnegie Mellon UniversityNicholas P. Garcia, Senior Policy Counsel, Public KnowledgeCurt Levey, President, Committee for Justice(Moderator) Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

On President Biden's first day in office, he signed Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. He then signed Executive Order 14035: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce later that year on June 25, 2021. Taken together, these orders outline what President Biden has described as an “ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda.” Executive branch agencies are now charged with creating, implementing, and assessing a large variety of DEI initiatives. As examples, agencies have been encouraged to hire a Chief Diversity Officer, workforce DEI training programs have been implemented and expanded, and federal health benefits have been augmented to include “comprehensive gender-affirming health care” for employees and their dependents. These initiatives cost time, money, and resources, and they are not without controversy. Some question the legal grounding of these initiatives and assert that they run afoul of constitutional guarantees to equal protection of the law. A separate concern is whether federal DEI priorities fail on a utilitarian calculus and drain the federal government's financial and manpower resources. Still, many Americans support the executive branch initiatives in both theory and practice. Should the executive branch maintain such a robust focus on DEI initiatives? Is the current administration's focus constitutional? Is it appropriate? Does it serve the American people?Featured Speakers:Veronica Venture, Deputy Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Director of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)Hans von Spakovsky, Manager, Election Law Reform Initiative, Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage FoundationDevon Westhill, President and General Counsel, Center for Equal OpportunityDean Todd Clark, Dean, Delaware Law School[Moderator] Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

In this episode, host M.C. Sungaila is joined by General Counsel and Vice-Chair for the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, L. Rachel Lerman. She shares her journey from art to the law, and from a career in appellate law to one focused on civil rights protections for Jewish students and tackling anti-Semitism.

Welcome back to Fresh Look! Our featured guest for Episode 7 is Alyza Lewin, a prominent pro-Israel lawyer with an extensive career representing clients facing anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist discrimination. During the show you'll hear more from Alyza about a range of pertinent legal topics related to Israel and Judaism, including how pro-Israel students are protected by the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Alyza Lewin is President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and co-founder and partner of Lewin & Lewin, LLP where she has specialized in litigation, mediation and government relations. She began her law career in Israel, where she was a law clerk to Deputy President of the Supreme Court Justice Menachem Elon and has represented numerous high-profile clients including victims of religious discrimination. In 2014, Alyza orally argued Zivotofsky v. Kerry (the “Jerusalem Passport” case) before the U.S. Supreme Court. She is also past President of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and serves on the Board of Directors of the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Welcome to the show, Alyza!

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has launched an investigation into the legality of state bans forbidding schools from imposing mask mandates on their students. OCR indicated two major bases for potential illegality: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibit discrimination against students on the basis of a disability and guarantee students with disabilities access to a public education. Opponents of the mask mandate bans argue that students with disabilities cannot access public education if other students and staff are not required to be masked. Proponents of the bans argue that parents should not be deprived of the right to make health decisions for their children. Other arguments concern the proper scope and limits on federal involvement in school matters.Join Professor Robert Dinerstein, Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law and Director of the Disability Rights Law Clinic and Sarah Perry, Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Edwin Meese Center and author of a recent relevant article, to discuss.Featuring:-- Prof. Robert Dinerstein, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law-- Sarah Perry, Legal Fellow, Heritage Foundation, Edwin Meese Center-- Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

Has American higher education gone too far — or in the wrong direction — in how it sanctions normatively disfavored conduct? Some of these sanctions (“cancellations," as they are sometimes called) are ephemeral and others career-ending. Some are based on transgressions that almost all condemn, others on conduct that some find praiseworthy. Is higher education now more intolerant than it once was, or is it just intolerant about different things? And if academia is now intolerant about different things, has the change been beneficial or harmful? If the answer depends on how we feel about free speech, do “cancelations” — however understood -- impair free speech or advance it?Join us for Part 1 of a thoughtful series discussing cancel culture and its effect on American culture featuring:J.C. Hallman, an acclaimed author who wrote a piece entitled “In Defense of Cancel Culture” following the publication of the Harper's Magazine letter on Justice and Open Debate. Dr. Charles Murray, the F.A. Haye Chair Emeritus in Cultural Studies at the American Enterprise Institute who experienced academic and social backlash notably his publication of The Bell Curve. Featuring: -- J.C. Hallman, Author and Columnist-- Dr. Charles Murray, W.H. Brady Scholar, American Enterprise Institute-- Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

Kenneth Marcus, Founder and Chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, discusses a recent poll among college students with a strong sense of Jewish identity, indicating Jews feel unsafe on campus. With Shahar Azani.

Antisemitism seems to be growing in recent years. In just the last six months alone, we've seen opposition towards the nation of Israel and its policies, even among some politicians. Is anti-Zionism a contemporary form of antisemitism? Rachel Lerman, Senior Counsel and Vice Chair of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law joins Dan to discuss.

Professor George La Noue joins us to discuss his recently published article, “The Race Card in ARPA's Food Supply Deck,” published by the Federalist Society Review on July 12, 2021. In his article, Professor La Noue discusses the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which appropriated $1.9 trillion, $28.6 billion of which would be administered by the Small Business Administration. Since passage, numerous lawsuits have been filed against the SBA on Fifth Amendment grounds alleging unconstitutional sex-based and race-based discrimination. Other suits have been filed against the United States Department of Agriculture for an allegedly unconstitutional loan forgiveness scheme on the same Fifth Amendment grounds. Read Professor La Noue's analysis of the arguments and country-wide pending litigation is here.Featuring: -- Professor George La Noue, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland Baltimore County -- Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

In a January 26, 2021 White House Memorandum, President Biden directed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to reexamine actions taken during the Trump presidency, and ordering the Secretary to ensure the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which bans discrimination, was being properly administered. On that initiative, Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge moved to reinstate two Obama-era Fair Housing rules rejecting former Secretary Ben Carson's previous directives.Secretary Fudge rescinded Secretary Carson's interpretation of the disparate impact rule, rescinded the Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice Rule, and reinstated the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule. Here to discuss the pros, cons, and implications of HUD's recent changes are several housing policy experts: Howard Husock, Bryan Greene, and Daniel Huff with moderator Ken Marcus. Featuring: -- Howard Husock, Senior Fellow, Domestic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute -- Bryan Greene, Vice President, Policy Advocacy, National Association of Realtors -- Daniel Huff, former General Deputy Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development-- Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

On March 11, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden issued an Executive Order titled “Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex….” President Biden's Order requires the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to undertake a comprehensive review of existing Title IX policies, including sexual harassment regulations that the Trump administration issued last year. Earlier this month, OCR conducted public hearings as part of its review. This webinar will provide differing perspectives on the issues that are now under OCR review, such as how best to address sexual assault, protect due process, and ensure that related public policy goals are met in schools and colleges.Featuring: -- Samantha Harris, Attorney, Allen Harris Law-- Shiwali Patel, Director of Justice for Student Survivors and Senior Counsel, National Women's Law Center-- Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

The national conversation over transgender students’ inclusion in student athletics and school facilities has received unparalleled levels of attention in the past weeks. Some transgender advocates argue affording equal rights to transgender students requires forcing public schools to allow transgender students access to the sports team, the locker room, and the bathroom that matches the gender the trans student identifies with. Others oppose such mandatory access, arguing that treating transgender boys who identify as girls the same as biological girls undermines hard-fought women’s gains in developing women’s sports and safety-protections.Join us for a discussion between Shannon Minter, transgender rights advocate and Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lauren Adams, noted feminist advocate and Legal Counsel at Women’s Liberation Front. Featuring: -- Shannon Minter, Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights-- Lauren Adams, Legal Counsel, Women's Liberation Front -- Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

In this INSS podcast, dedicated to Holocaust Remembrance Day, INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with Prof. Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, to discuss the issue of antisemitism and the role of education. Prof. Marcus is also the author of the article “Addressing Antisemitism Within and Through the Educational Systems in the United States,” a special publication in the framework of the INSS collection of articles on contemporary antisemitism in the United States. More than seven decades have passed since the last shell was fired in World War II, as the liberating allied soldiers stood still to the horrific sights of the systematic murder of six million European Jews by the Germans and their accomplices under the Nazi regime. But antisemitism has never really disappeared since then. Especially in the last decade, it seems that this phenomenon has increased and has become alarming. How should educators of our time approach this issue? Why do we see an increase in antisemitism in the education system in the US today? What is the relation between anti-Israel and anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and how is it reflected in contemporary American society ? And how should the Biden administration address this issue? https://www.inss.org.il/publication/antisemitism-education/

THE DEFINITIVE RAP: 1/28/2021 Interview with Alyza D. Lewin, President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (“LDB”), a non-profit organization established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Alyza talked about the "Japanese Schindler," Ambassador, Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Kovno, Lithuania ,who disobeyed his government's orders and issued transit visas through Japan to thousands of Jews seeking to flee war-torn Europe.

1/28/2021 Interview with Alyza D. Lewin, President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (“LDB”), a non-profit organization established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Alyza talked about the "Japanese Schindler," Ambassador, Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Kovno, Lithuania ,who disobeyed his government's orders and issued transit visas through Japan to thousands of Jews seeking to flee war-torn Europe.

Title: “Antisemitism, Higher Education, and the Law” (Part 1) Date: December 3, 2013 Speaker: Kenneth Marcus Affiliation: President and General Counsel, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Location: Harvard University Conveners: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Charles Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Description: Kenneth Marcus examines the decisions by the United States Office of Education for Civil Rights (OCR), which simultaneously issued four rulings dismissing major cases regarding antisemitism pending before it. The decisions left many wondering whether the body is serious about dealing with allegations of antisemitism. He notes that the OCR is one of the most important federal institutions set with ensuring non-discrimination in educational institutions and therefore asks how all of the cases dealing with antisemitism were closed. Marcus goes on to explain that while the agency deals with all other types of discrimination, it does not deal with religion. Religious discrimination is therefore not prohibited. Marcus makes the case that while some antisemitism is religious, other forms are racial and ethnic. He therefore makes the case that while a group may have religious characteristics, it does not divest the OCR of its jurisdiction that it would otherwise have.

Title: “Antisemitism, Higher Education, and the Law” (Part 2) Date: December 3, 2013 Speaker: Kenneth Marcus Affiliation: President and General Counsel, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Location: Harvard University Conveners: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Charles Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Description: Kenneth Marcus examines the decisions by the United States Office of Education for Civil Rights (OCR), which simultaneously issued four rulings dismissing major cases regarding antisemitism pending before it. The decisions left many wondering whether the body is serious about dealing with allegations of antisemitism. He notes that the OCR is one of the most important federal institutions set with ensuring non-discrimination in educational institutions and therefore asks how all of the cases dealing with antisemitism were closed. Marcus goes on to explain that while the agency deals with all other types of discrimination, it does not deal with religion. Religious discrimination is therefore not prohibited. Marcus makes the case that while some antisemitism is religious, other forms are racial and ethnic. He therefore makes the case that while a group may have religious characteristics, it does not divest the OCR of its jurisdiction that it would otherwise have.

In The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press, 2015), Kenneth L. Marcus, the President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, explains what it is at stake in how we define anti-Semitism. “Nowadays virtually everyone is opposed to anti-Semitism although no one agrees about what it means to be anti-Semitic,” Marcus writes (p. 11). Marcus discusses the global rise in anti-Semitism; in the United States, Marcus tells us, college campuses are frequently sites of frequent anti-Semitic–and anti-Israel–incidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press, 2015), Kenneth L. Marcus, the President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, explains what it is at stake in how we define anti-Semitism. “Nowadays virtually everyone is opposed to anti-Semitism although no one agrees about what it means to be anti-Semitic,” Marcus writes (p. 11). Marcus discusses the global rise in anti-Semitism; in the United States, Marcus tells us, college campuses are frequently sites of frequent anti-Semitic–and anti-Israel–incidents.

In The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press, 2015), Kenneth L. Marcus, the President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, explains what it is at stake in how we define anti-Semitism. “Nowadays virtually everyone is opposed to anti-Semitism although no one agrees about what it means to be anti-Semitic,” Marcus writes (p. 11). Marcus discusses the global rise in anti-Semitism; in the United States, Marcus tells us, college campuses are frequently sites of frequent anti-Semitic–and anti-Israel–incidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press, 2015), Kenneth L. Marcus, the President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, explains what it is at stake in how we define anti-Semitism. “Nowadays virtually everyone is opposed to anti-Semitism although no one agrees about what it means to be anti-Semitic,” Marcus writes (p. 11). Marcus discusses the global rise in anti-Semitism; in the United States, Marcus tells us, college campuses are frequently sites of frequent anti-Semitic–and anti-Israel–incidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press, 2015), Kenneth L. Marcus, the President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, explains what it is at stake in how we define anti-Semitism. “Nowadays virtually everyone is opposed to anti-Semitism although no one agrees about what it means to be anti-Semitic,” Marcus writes (p. 11). Marcus discusses the global rise in anti-Semitism; in the United States, Marcus tells us, college campuses are frequently sites of frequent anti-Semitic–and anti-Israel–incidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices