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As the ADL just reported on Thursday, 2022 was the worst year in US history for antisemitic incidents. They recorded 3,697 incidents-10 per day, (and those are the ones that they are aware of.) What is most disturbing is that 494 of these took place in kindergarten through 12th-grade institutions. Over the last few decades, we have witnessed the meteoric rise of antisemitism on college campuses. Last year alone saw a 41% increase in the number of antisemitic incidents on college campuses according to the ADL. Many such incidents masquerade under the thin veneer of anti-Israelism. Universities are the incubators of ideas, and over the decades we have watched as the virus of antisemitism has metastasized itself from the Middle East programs, throughout the humanities and social sciences, onto the campus and now are occupying the corridors of power in foreign policy, and in business and industry.

From university campuses to the boardroom, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law uses legal tools to address this growing scourge. Join us to know your rights and learn how the law can make a difference.

About the Speaker: Alyza D. Lewin is the 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. The Brandeis Center conducts research, education and legal advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses. It empowers students by training them to understand their legal rights, and educates administrators on best practices to combat racism and anti-Semitism on campus. Ms. Lewin is also a co-founder and partner in Lewin & Lewin, LLP where she has specialized in litigation, mediation and government relations. Her experience includes criminal defense, civil litigation and anti-discrimination matters.

Ms. Lewin led the litigation team that represented Avi Zinger, the Israeli licensee of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, in the lawsuit that Mr. Zinger filed against Unilever to prevent Ben & Jerry’s boycott of Israel. Ms. Lewin negotiated a successful resolution to that matter pursuant to which Avi Zinger obtained the right in perpetuity to sell Ben & Jerry’s ice cream everywhere in Israel and the territories using the Hebrew and Arabic logos.

In 2014, Lewin argued Zivotofsky v. Kerry (the “Jerusalem Passport” case) before the U.S. Supreme Court, a case involving the constitutionality of a law granting American citizens born in Jerusalem the right to list “Israel” as the place of birth on their U.S. passports. In Zivotofsky, the Supreme Court held that the President of the United States has the exclusive authority to recognize foreign sovereigns. The case paved the way for President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. After 18 years, Ms. Lewin brought this pro-bono case to a successful resolution in October 2020, when Secretary of State Pompeo revised the US passport regulations and Ambassador David Friedman presented her client with the very first US passport to list “Israel” as place of birth for a US citizen born in Jerusalem.

Ms. Lewin, together with her father Nathan Lewin, also successfully represented the Boim family in its landmark civil tort litigation which established the right of American victims of terror to obtain damages under American law against organizations that knowingly provide financial support to international terrorist groups.

Ms. Lewin began her law career in Israel where she clerked on the Supreme Court for Deputy President Justice Menachem Elon. Ms. Lewin served as President of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (“AAJLJ”) from 2012 – 2017. In January 2020, Ms. Lewin was awarded the AAJLJ’s distinguished Pursuit of Justice Award. In December 2022, Alyza was named by the Algemeiner to their J100 – as one of the “Top 100 people positively influencing Jewish Life.”

Ms. Lewin received her B.A. from Princeton University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Ms. Lewin has also been trained as a mediator by the American Arbitration Association and the Center for Dispute Settlement.

Ms. Lewin is married and has four children.