Midyear Meeting
ABA resolves to ‘take a leadership role in opposing antisemitism’
Citing events like the 2017 riots in Charlottesville, Virginia; the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol; and recent synagogue shootings in Pennsylvania and California, proponents of Resolution 514 asked the ABA to formally condemn antisemitism.
Resolution 514 was passed by the ABA House of Delegates, which met Monday at the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans. Besides condemning antisemitism, the resolution calls for the government to take steps to improve security at Jewish institutions and organizations, and supports policies that promote law enforcement training to counter antisemitism. Additionally, the resolution supports bar associations providing education to respond to and remedy antisemitism, including victim support.
The ABA sponsors of the resolution were the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, the Coalition of Racial and Ethnic Justice, the International Law Section, the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and the Senior Lawyers Division. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association was also a sponsor. No speakers rose to oppose the resolution.
“I grew up as a Jewish boy in Texas,” said Robert Weiner, a House of Delegates member from Washington, D.C., who spoke in favor of the resolution. “We were not subject to the discrimination inflicted on Blacks and Hispanics, but there were places we could not go. There were organizations you could not join. And there were jobs we couldn’t get. Now, antisemitism is on the rise to an unprecedented degree.”
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