In the aftermath of the Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh, a new initiative was launched on Friday for law students to fight anti-Semitism.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, alongside Hasbara Fellowships, created the JIGSAW Initiative, “an unprecedented pilot program to train law students to combat and prevent resurgent anti-Semitism,” according to a statement from LDB.
JIGSAW stands for Justice Initiative Guiding Student Activists Worldwide.
As part of the program, Brandeis Center attorneys will train a specialized group of law students to “utilize legal tools and expertise to combat both classic/white supremacist and anti-Israel anti-Semitism. The law students will focus on combating anti-Semitic incidents on campus by using university policies, and state and federal law,” according to LDB.
“As the tragic and horrific events in Pittsburgh made abundantly clear, anti-Semitism is escalating at a frightening rate in the U.S.,” said Alyza Lewin, Brandeis Center president and general counsel.
“We must reverse this rising tide of anti-Semitism and ethnic racism, and there is no substitute for legal action,” she added. “By properly training a select team of law students to work with undergraduates and utilize specific legal tools and strategy, we can begin to take the offensive in this battle.”
Jews are the leading target of hate crimes among religious groups annually in the United States, according to the FBI.
