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We hope you and your families had a Happy Hanukkah and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2022!
We are very excited about our inaugural Attorneys and Judges Council trip to Israel in May, and we hope you join us for the trip of a lifetime!
Our newsletter highlights upcoming Council events, and reviews national and local Council programs since our last edition: a conversation with United States Supreme Court Marshal Pamela Talkin; “Immigration Law: What’s Happening Underneath the Noise”; and “Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism: Trends in Michigan and Nationwide.” Please also read an update on the important coalition amicus briefs Hadassah has recently joined.
We are grateful to Mandy Garver for launching and co-chairing our Book Club Committee with Candy Cohen, and wish Mandy Mazel Tov as she becomes the next president of Hadassah Greater Detroit! We are delighted to welcome our new Book Club Committee Co-Chair, Ricki Sokol! We are very pleased to announce that Lynn Altshuler, Swearing In Program Committee Co-Chair, is our first Newsletter Editor! Lynn, who is featured in this issue’s Spotlight, has created two new features for our newsletter: Letters to the Editor and Council Member News.
All attorneys and judges are invited to join our next virtual Steering Committee meeting for the Attorneys and Judges Council on Monday, January 3, 2022 at 7:30 pm EST. Our discussion will feature Naomi Adler, an attorney and Hadassah‘s new CEO/Executive Director. Hear what our Council committees are doing and be a part of our plans for the future. Please click here to register.
We hope you join us!
Co-Chairs, Hadassah National Attorneys and Judges Council
Attorneys and Judges Council 2022 Trip to Israel
Pack your bags, grab your passport, and join the Attorneys and Judges Council on its inaugural trip to Israel, May 2-13, 2022, with an optional Southern Extension from May 13-17. The Super Early Bird discount of $600 runs until January 31, 2022, and the Early Bird discount of $300 runs until March 1, 2022.
This long-awaited mission, aimed at learning about Israel’s laws and legal institutions, is geared towards women and men jurists alike, and offers a unique and thought-provoking itinerary for non-lawyers, too!
The main part of our trip addresses historic, legal, religious and Hadassah-related subjects in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and their surrounding environs. The four-day Southern Extension includes stops in the Negev/Eilat, Mitzpeh Ramon and Petra, Jordan.
Our arrival coincides with, and allows us to join, national observances of Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). Other highlights include: welcoming Shabbat at the Kotel; touring the Barkan Winery, and learning about the rules of Kashrut regarding wine; an agricultural tour of the Salad Trail; and visiting Moshav Nativ HaAsara and viewing the Path to Peace, a community-created mosaic along the Israel/Gaza border wall.
Planned special encounters include:
- lunch at a Druze village and meeting students at Hadassah’s Meir Shfeya Youth Village
- learning about Israel’s religious court system and the differences between Jewish, Christian and Muslim courts
- watching the IDF’s traditional air and sea show on Yom Ha’Atzmaut and enjoying Shabbat dinner with an Orthodox family
- meeting Jerusalem Post Palestinian Affairs correspondent, Khaled Abu Toameh
- hearing a representative of the IDF’s Military Law unit explain how the army monitors the actions of the IDF, how they stand with international law, and the interaction with the International Criminal Court in the Hague (ICC)
- touring the seam line in Jerusalem with Colonel Miri Eisen
- visiting the Palestinian Authority for a discussion on their perspective on the legal framework for the West Bank and Gaza Strip and their reaction to the ICC
- enjoying a gourmet chef-prepared dinner near Machane Yehuda market
- visiting the Knesset and meeting members of the Judiciary committee on the Law of Return and immigration law
- visiting the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) and enjoying VIP meetings with medical staff and leadership
- touring Israel’s Supreme Court and meeting one of the judges
- touring the Hebrew University campus and meeting members of the Jewish Law department to learn about the impact of traditional Jewish law on the Israeli legal system
- dining with the President of the Israeli Bar Association and learning more about it, including the Mandatory Mediation Committee and the Pro Bono Committee
To register or for more information click here.
by Candy Cohen, Co-Chair, Attorneys and Judges Council Book Club
The first year of the Book Club was rewarding for all attendees with lively discussions and a chance to get acquainted with each other. Book Club readers have recommended a new selection of books for the coming year. Four compelling choices are confirmed for next year.
Save the date for our next program:
January 18, 7:30 pm ET: Defending Jacob by William Landay. On the New York Times bestseller list for nine months, the Associated Press described it as, “a legal thriller that’s comparable to classics such as Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent … tragic and shocking.”
Additional books and dates in 2022 are:
- April 19: Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America by Adam Cohen
- July 19: (My choice) Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control our Lives by James Salzman and Michael Heller
- October 25: Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court by Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson
We invite readers to volunteer in advance to facilitate one of the meetings. A Zoom link will go out to all those who RSVP at least 10 days in advance. No cost to participants.
To volunteer as a facilitator, contact Candy Cohen at candy.cohen.cc@gmail.com.
Winter 2021 Hadassah Amicus Brief Program Update
This year, Hadassah has joined several amicus curiae briefs. Amicus Brief Program Committee volunteers help decide which briefs to join based on our mission as a Zionist women’s organization. To learn more, you can read Hadassah's policy statements and check our Council webpage in the coming weeks for a link to an informative new Amicus Brief Program page. If you are interested in joining this work, please contact us at attorneysandjudgescouncil@hadassah.org. Here is a summary of some recent briefs we joined:Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (U.S. 19-1392, argued 12/1/2021). Hadassah joined an amicus brief supporting abortion access. The challenged Mississippi law bans almost all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. Mississippi has specifically asked the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Weiss v. National Westminster Bank, PLC (U.S. 21-381, argument date not set yet). Hadassah joined an amicus brief supporting the position that a person who knowingly transfers substantial funds to a designated foreign terrorist organizations thereby aids and abets that organization’s terrorist acts for purposes of civil liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
Chase v. Penney (2d Cir. 20-3234 - decided 10/24/2021). Hadassah joined an amicus brief supporting a 27-year-old restaurant server who was sexually assaulted by her boss. The brief highlights the ways gender bias by law enforcement, including reliance on harmful sex-based stereotypes, leads to failures in sexual assault investigations and compounds the trauma of sexual assault for survivors. On October 24, 2021, the Second Circuit rejected the defendants’ appeal, allowing Chase’s remaining claims to proceed.
Slattery v. Cuomo (2d Cir. 21-911). Hadassah joined an amicus brief in support of a New York law prohibiting employment discrimination based on employees’ reproductive health decisions. The law is being challenged by a religiously affiliated anti-abortion group on several constitutional grounds. The brief focuses on refuting the group’s argument that the law violates the Free Exercise Clause.
The Attorneys and Judges Council is delighted to partner with the American Friends of Hebrew University and the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists to bring you three free virtual CLE programs in early 2022. The presentations will be given by the law faculty of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. All programs will take place on the first Wednesday of the month. Currently, attorneys in the states of CA, FL, IL, NY, NV, PA, will be able to receive 1 credit of CLE for each program. The programs offered are the following:
International Human Rights Law and the Fight Against Online Antisemitism featuring Prof. Yuval Shany
Wednesday, January 5, 2022, 3 pm (East Coast time); Noon (Pacific time)
The lecture evaluates, through the lens of international human rights law, some prominent features of the discourse concerning the legal regulation and mechanisms aimed at curbing online antisemitism and other forms of hate speech. Utilizing international human rights law as a point of reference offers a broadly accepted critical perspective for evaluating the hate speech policies of technology companies that operate on a global scale, as well as for assessing the propriety of the regulatory efforts undertaken by national governments. As history shows, regulatory efforts undertaken by national governments have often gone too far in limiting freedom of expression.
Heuristics and Biases and Court Decision Making featuring Prof. Doron Teichman
Wednesday, February 2, 2022, 3 pm (East Coast time); Noon (Pacific time)
This talk will present an overview of a wide body of psychological literature documenting the impact of different heuristics and biases on court decisions. Among other things, the talk will discuss how irrelevant factors might impact sentencing decisions and damage awards, how context alters the way judges evaluate a case, and whether factfinders can ignore inadmissible evidence.
Copyright and the Holocaust featuring Prof. Michal Shur-Ofry
Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 3 pm (East Coast time); Noon (Pacific time)
Does copyright law play a role in shaping the collective memory of the Holocaust? Should ordinary copyright protection apply to writings, music, and art created by victims in the shadow of genocide? To Nazi documentation and propaganda materials? This talk, describing a large-scale research project by Profs. Michal Shur-Ofry and Guy Pessach, addresses these questions and unravesl complicated relations between copyright law and the Holocaust.
Click here to register for any of these classes.
Sign up, save the dates and enjoy these interesting and timely discussions. You can register at the same time, or later, for any or all of these programs. The CLE certificates will be sent out 10-15 business days after the program. If you live in a state where CLE credit has not yet been approved and want to work on getting approval, please let us know at: attorneysandjudgescouncil@hadassah.org
I am excited to be the first official Editor of Hadassah’s National Attorneys and Judges Council Newsletter. My goal through this newsletter is to keep you informed of what is going on, who’s doing what and where, and to bring you updates on programs presented by the Attorneys and Judges Council.
Connection with Israel is a part of my family’s history. My grandfather and his brother were strong supporters of Zionism at a time when Israel was still fighting to become a Jewish State. My father supported Technion; now my husband and two sons are Associates of Hadassah.
In 2007, I was an attorney in San Francisco who knew very little about Hadassah. A friend told me about Hadassah’s Attorneys and Judges Council Swearing In Program. Intrigued, I signed up. My 2008 day at the Supreme Court surpassed all my expectations. Sitting just behind the attorneys arguing their cases, I was sworn in before all nine Justices. We met with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that year. The experience was awe-inspiring. It led me to bpth join the Swearing In Committee and get more involved locally, where I later served as President of the San Francisco Chapter of Hadassah and began a local Attorneys and Judges Council.
Community service and political advocacy have been important parts of my life. Appointed by the Mayor of San Francisco, I currently sit on the San Francisco-Haifa Sister City Committee, which promotes student, cultural and civic exchanges between the City of San Francisco and Haifa, Israel. I joined the Mayor and Committee members on a cultural trade mission to Israel in 2016. My past service also includes stints on my local JCRC and raising funds to assist children, especially the severely handicapped, deaf, homeless and those with special needs.
After graduating from law school, I was a trial attorney for 25+ years. I am looking forward to becoming a first-time grandmother in April. Mah-Jongg, flower arranging, and a Jewish women’s book club take up my spare time. Over many years with my family, I have enjoyed traveling to 50 countries.
My involvement with the Attorneys and Judges Council has brought me much enjoyment and gratification over the years allowing me to combine service and advocacy. I have developed life-long friendships which I cherish. Hadassah offers me an opportunity to be hands on to further issues I value in a meaningful and fun way.
Yashar Attorneys and Judges Update
by Sasha Pezenik
Yashar (which means "just, righteous, upright") is the first and only Attorneys and Judges Chapter of Hadassah. The chapter was established in 1994 by a small group of Nassau County-based Jewish women lawyers and judges who saw a need for networking and felt a strong desire to give back to the Jewish community and Hadassah, in particular. Many of the founding members serve on Yashar’s executive board and remain active members. Notably, former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a proud Jewish female judge, signed the Charter of our organization. As Yashar’s name suggests, the members of Yashar are committed to contributing their legal talents to further Hadassah’s educational, charitable and social goals.
Last month, Yashar hosted its Annual Installation Dinner. With close to 100 guests in attendance, the women of Yashar, their family members, and friends proudly gathered on a beautifully decorated rooftop event space to celebrate. As the night progressed, the ceremony was led by former Yashar President, Hon. Claire Weinberg, with speeches given by Ruth Kraft, the Vice President of Membership, and by Gail Saul, Esq., the incoming President. Surrounded by people whose support for Yashar and Hadassah’s missions is unwavering, the incoming board members were installed under the twinkling stars. To end the night, the guests enjoyed a comedy presentation by former attorney, Talia Reese. The jokes were perfectly tailored to the event, and the audience roared in delight.
Yashar continues to thrive both as a Hadassah chapter and as a vital component of the legal community. Yashar offers female Jewish attorneys and judges the unique ability to meet in an informal atmosphere and discuss issues with other attorneys and with sitting and former Judges. Yashar’s mission has been to combine education with networking by presenting programs of interest to the Jewish legal community.
The Hadassah Greater Detroit Attorneys and Judges Council hosted two online programs in 2021. The first, “Immigration Law: The Past Four Years and What the Future Holds,” was held on April 28 in conjunction with the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan (JBAM). The speaker was Hadassah member Elisheva Mosko, an immigration attorney and then-President of JBAM. Mosko discussed the history of immigration law, how it had changed during the previous Administration and potential developments on the horizon.
The second program, “Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism: Trends in Michigan and Nationwide,” was held on November 18 and featured Assistant General Sunita Doddamani. Doddamani is head of the Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit in the Michigan Department of General Attorney. She explained how hate crimes and domestic terrorism are identified, why these incidents often are not reported or prosecuted and steps that can be taken to increase reporting and prosecution. An excellent question-and-answer session included a discussion of current cases in the national news, the escalation of hate crimes globally and reporting discrepancies among the states.
On April 11, 2021, the Attorneys and Judges Council Swearing In Committee presented “A Conversation with Pamela Talkin.” Former Marshal of the Supreme Court, Marshal Talkin, a life member of Hadassah, was honored that evening with Hadassah’s Myrtle Wreath Award, one of the most prestigious tributes bestowed by Hadassah. She was recognized for her dedicated service at the Supreme Court and her support for Hadassah’s Attorneys and Judges Council Swearing In Program, to which she provided significant enrichment, participation and inspiration for 19 years. by Alice Thurston, New York State (new Hadassah member, 2021)
I was lucky to have been reminded by my sister-in-law, Karen Loewenstern, of this event. Pamela Talkin spoke at length of her life journey, a great American story of persistence, hard work, and, at times, chutzpah. She described her work at the Supreme Court, where she handled both day-to-day routines and major challenges as they arose.
It was fascinating to hear her discuss, in such a relaxed and matter-of-fact manner, her remarkable career. She described growing up in Brooklyn in a family that did not have enough money to buy books for her, so she turned to the library. Public school graduates, she and her sister were the first in their family to get college degrees. She recalled walking door-to-door as a young woman, asking to “speak with someone” about “a job.” That determination brought her through ever more important “jobs” at the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Office of Compliance, before becoming the first woman to be Marshal of the Supreme Court.
The job of Marshal of the Supreme Court is statutory, written into law. As Marshal, she was the Court’s general manager, paymaster, building superintendent, contracting officer, managing 360 employees, including the Supreme Court Police Force. The police force provides security for the Justices, Court staff, visitors, the building, and surrounding grounds. She started working at the Court only two months before 9/11; she oversaw the modernization of security practices at the Court and for the Justices.
What a self-made woman Marshal is! She makes it look easy, but she really has earned it.
As an appellate attorney at the Justice Department, I attended various Supreme Court arguments, and was well aware of the woman in formal morning suit with tails, pinstripe pants and a vest, crying the Court to order with the traditional “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” The Hadassah event was a wonderful opportunity to get to know her and to learn what it takes to become the gavel wielding woman in charge. Thank you, Hadassah!
Letters to the Editor will be a forum to comment on Council programs and events; we would love to hear from you and encourage you to send in your comments by emailing us here.
NOTICE: Supreme Court Swearing In Program: On HiatusDue to the ongoing pandemic, the Supreme Court is not open to the public, and Hadassah’s Swearing In Commttee is unable to offer this program in February 2022. We anticipate continuing the Program as soon as it is safe to do so.
Immigration Law Webinar Recap
by Merle Kahn, Co-Chair Amicus Brief Committee and Lynn Altshuler, Editor of Attorneys and Judges Newsletter
The Attorneys and Judges Council presented an informative and eye-opening webinar: “Immigration Law: What’s Happening Underneath All of the Noise.” The panel was made up of three immigration attorneys who are currently working on the front lines representing clients: Merle Kahn, who is in private practice in San Jose, California; Amanda Alvarado Ford, who is the executive director for the non-profit agency, La Raza Centro Legal, in San Francisco, California; and Nicole Ramos, who is the legal director for the non-profit agency, Al Otro Lado, providing legal services at the southern border. The panel addressed the myths associated with immigration and explained what is really happening in this country.
Merle, who has 30 years of experience in representing clients with immigration issues, and is Co-Chair of Hadassah’s Amicus Brief Committee, began by telling us a bit of her family history. She is the granddaughter of religious refugees. Her grandmother was born in Russia (now Ukraine) at a time when Jewish girls were generally not allowed to attend public school. Her grandmother was one of two girls allowed into the school. She would have to run home every day because the other children would stone her because she was Jewish. During the pogroms, her neighbor hid her family in her mother’s candy store. At that time, all Jewish boys were forcibly conscripted into the Czar’s army and had to serve for thirty years. Her grandmother’s brothers avoided military conscription by fleeing the country. As a result, when Merle’s grandmother fled Russia with her mother, the Russian government wouldn’t allow her father to leave the country with them. Growing up with this family history, Merle has much empathy and understanding for refugees who are trying to escape persecution and better their lives.
Merle gave an overview of the current state of the immigration process. The bottom line – it is very difficult to immigrate to the US. Grounds for legal immigration include: family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, humanitarian-based immigration (including asylum, protections for people in abusive relationships, protections for people who are trafficked, protections for the victims of violent crimes) and the diversity lottery. She explained that these categories are very circumscribed and that there is a huge backlog for these cases with waitlists as long as 22 years. The only people who can immediately immigrate to the US are the minor children and spouses of US citizens and parents of US citizens who are 21 years of age or older. Merle also discussed non-immigrant visas and options including DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) commonly known as Dreamers, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from certain countries where there has been a natural disaster. Again, these categories are very limited and circumscribed.
Amanda Alvarado Ford is the daughter of migrant farmworkers who immigrated to the US. She is the executive director of La Raza Centro Legal, a neighborhood legal services agency which takes pride in protecting their clients’ civil and human rights in three areas: immigration, elder law and disability, and workers’ rights. Her clients come primarily from Spanish speaking countries and share with Jewish refugees (who immigrated years ago) a common thread of being persecuted. Amanda is a recognized expert on asylum law. Modern asylum law is based on the Geneva Conventions enacted after the Holocaust to provide protections for people who are persecuted. She explained that in seeking asylum, people must establish a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion. She explained that decisions during the Trump administration decimated asylum protections for people escaping gender-based violence, gangs and persecution against families. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has vacated some of these decisions and has ensured that the interpretation of the laws is more in accordance with the United States’ obligations under international treaties.
Nicole Ramos, Esq., Border Rights Project Director at Al Otro Lado, Tijuana, Mexico, spoke powerfully about the unfolding tragedy at the southern border. Nicole is currently living in Tijuana and working with migrants at the make-shift refugee camps that the migrants themselves have established at the border. She reported seeing many human rights violations at the US-Mexico border such as family detention and family separation. She discussed the deplorable conditions at these camps – including the lack of sanitation and basic shelter. She discussed the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) (also known as Remain in Mexico) and their impact on the immigrant population and how these protocols violate U.S. obligations under international treaties. And she discussed how the Trump Administration’s implementation of Title 42 (a public health regulation) closing the border to asylum seekers because of the public health concerns of COVID-19 affected the asylum seekers themselves. Al Otro Lado has successfully filed class action lawsuits challenging policies which restrict the right to seek asylum in the US.
The panel was fascinating and eye-opening. If you have time, we recommend that you click here to watch the recording of the program.
Incidents of antisemitism at our nation's colleges are disturbingly on the rise. What can be done to protect our youth? Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor, Lisa Hostein, moderates a panel that includes attorney Alyza Lewin, a leading figure in the legal fight against antisemitism at multiple universities, and prominent student activists who are mobilizing, organizing and taking to social media to combat rising Jew hatred and bias. Click to register.Council Member News
Congratulations to Susan Smolinsky of Baton Rouge, Louisiana who will be Hadassah’s Southern Region President, covering Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. She recently retired as head of the Land Division with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Agency for the State of Louisiana.
Congratulations to Mandy Garver of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan who is Hadassah’s incoming Region President of the Greater Detroit Region. She has served as Co-Chair of the Attorneys and Judges Council Book Club and VP of Fundraising of the Greater Detroit Region.
Debra Bogaards, a life member of Hadassah and her husband Pieter Bogaards, an Associate, both alums of Hadassah’s Attorneys and Judges Supreme Court Swearing In Program, participated in the Friends of the IDF annual five day bike ride in Israel In November. IDF veterans wounded due to landmines rode with 40 Americans around the Galilee. Debra is a trial attorney and mediator in San Francisco.
Council Member News will allow members to share professional achievements or personal
notes. New Job? Move? Honored in your community? Published recently? We invite you to email us at attorneysandjudgescouncil@hadassah.org and your news (limit 25 words) will be included in our next newsletter.
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