Please join us for the Fall 2024 Joint University of Waterloo–St. Jerome’s University Legal Studies Seminar
Dr. Itamar Mann and Dr. Lihi Yona will be speaking on the topic of “DEFENDING JEWS FROM THE DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM”
via Zoom (register here).
About the talk:
This article, forthcoming in UCLA Law Review, examines the legal debate surrounding antisemitism in the context of Israel criticism, challenging definitions that equate such criticism with antisemitic speech. It argues that current legal definitions impose a narrow, Zionist-centric view of Jewish identity, harming both Palestinian advocacy and Jewish pluralism. Jewish identity is inherently diverse and contested, with this ongoing debate viewed as a vital feature of Jewish tradition.
The article traces the evolution of antisemitism's legal definition, focusing on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition. To counter the harms of this definition, the article proposes a novel legal framework, arguing that criticizing Israel can be an exercise of religious freedom for many American Jews and that antidiscrimination laws should protect Jews targeted for their political positions.
Reinterpreting U.S. constitutional protections to safeguard the plurality of Jewish identities offers a new understanding of religious liberty that allows Jewish communities—and potentially other groups—to determine how religion and politics intertwine in their identities.
About the speakers:
Lihi Yona is an Assistant Professor at the University of Haifa, holding joint appointments in the Faculty of Law and the Department of Criminology. Her research primarily examines anti-discrimination laws, conceptions of legal equality, critical race studies, and Mizrahi legal studies. Professor Yona's academic interests also extend to labour law and LGBTQI legal issues. A recipient of the prestigious Alon Fellowship, she previously held a postdoctoral position at Harvard University before joining the faculty at Haifa. Through her work, Yona contributes to important conversations on equality, identity, and justice within the legal sphere. She holds an LLB from the University of Haifa, as well as LLM and SJD degrees from Columbia University.
Itamar Mann is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Haifa and a Humboldt Fellow Humboldt University, Berlin. Before coming to Berlin, he served as Vice Dean for research. He has written extensively in the areas of human rights law, refugee and migration law, international criminal law, Israel-Palestine, as well as legal and political theory. He is the President of the Geneva-based organization, Border Forensics.
About the seminar series:
The Joint Legal Studies Seminar Series features biannual seminars showcasing a range of legal studies scholarship. The series is hosted by the Departments of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo and St. Jerome’s University.