The ABA Presidential Task Force To Combat Antisemitism is hard at work to mobilize America’s 1.3 million lawyers in the fight against antisemitism, as the scourge of hatred against Jews grows. We are not alone doing so. Our partners in this effort include the United States Government and more than 30 other Western nations which have recently published national and international guidelines and strategies to mobilize civil society in the fight against antisemitism, including specific roles for lawyers and bar associations.
On July 17, 2024, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism (the Special Envoy), introduced the Global Guidelines For Countering Antisemitism (the Global Guidelines), a joint project of over 30 Western nations. She noted that the Guidelines reflect the need for “collective action against hate” by “civic and faith coalitions, and all people of conscience.” On that same day Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, “The Guidelines identify practical actions that governments, international bodies, civil society organizations, and people of conscience everywhere can take against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs.”
The thrust of the guidelines is already part of the May 2023 U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism (the National Strategy), a 60-page blueprint for our nation’s strategic opposition to antisemitism. Both the Global Guidelines and the National Strategy present an agenda for action by all sectors of society that we as lawyers have a [particular] responsibility to undertake in the fight against antisemitism.
Ambassador Lipstadt made clear that antisemitism is a threat not only to Jews but, rather, “Antisemitism, like other hatreds, poses threats beyond its immediate targets. A threat to one group also threatens society writ large. Antisemitism…is a threat to Jews, to democracy, to the rule of law, and to international security and stability. History tells us that when antisemitism is left to rage – or worse, when it is exploited and fanned for political purposes – democratic life, trust in public institutions, and national security is also imperiled.”
The Guidelines and the National Strategy call for a “whole of government” and a “whole of society” approach. They call upon each of us to “ SPEAK OUT – to denounce antisemitism swiftly, clearly, and unequivocally, whenever and wherever it occurs, without political bias and regardless of its origin.”