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StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department

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StandWithUs

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The StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department is a project of the pro-Israel education organization StandWithUs that provides free legal resources to people confronting antisemitic and anti-Israel activity. 1

The Legal Department investigates ethnic-studies curriculums at schools and universities. It also investigates antisemitic hate crimes and utilizes the criminal justice system. 2 The division further files legal complaints alleging violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 3

Yael Lerman became the founding director of the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department in 2013. 4

Background

The StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department is a project of the pro-Israel education organization StandWithUs that provides free legal resources to people confronting antisemitic and anti-Israel activity. 5

The Legal Department coordinates a team of four staff attorneys and more than 250 pro bono attorneys across the United States. 6

The department appears is for Naty Saidoff, an Israel-born businessman who is a member of the executive board of StandWithUs. 7

The legal department analyzes university policies, student government bylaws, school district policies, and federal, state, and local laws to determine if they create a threat of antisemitism or if they infringe on the rights of Jewish students. 8

The legal department offers workshops to educate students, faculty, community members, and lawyers about available legal tools to counter antisemitism and anti-Israel bigotry. 9 The legal department says it works with StandWithUs educators, regional staff, student fellows, community members, and other partner organizations. 10

The department conducts seminars such as Know Your Rights, Strategies to Combat Online Hate, University Giving in a Time of Rising Antisemitism, The Legal Landscape of Antisemitism Today, Answering Tough Questions About Israel Under International Law, Free Speech and Antisemitism, First Amendment and Title VI, and Holding Universities Accountable. 11

Activism

In June 2020, heads of the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department and the StandWithUs Center for Combating Antisemitism wrote to Florida State University president John E. Thrasher and the FSU Board of Trustees noting they were “appalled at the blatant discrimination and antisemitism occurring” at the Student Government Association, particularly with the student senate president who had posted messages about a “stupid Jew” on social media and created a website comparing Israel to Nazis. 12

The Legal Department in conjunction with Center for Combating Antisemitism represented a University of California Los Angeles student in 2019 in a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, asserting the UCLA administration took no action on behalf of a student who was verbally attacked by a guest lecturer who insisted that Zionism was “white supremacy.” 13

In May 2021, the Legal Department and the Center for Combating Antisemitism asked Middlebury College President Laurie L. Patton to take action against antisemitism on campus referencing a list of incidents of what it characterized as antisemitism, in most cases linked with the group Students for Justice in Palestine. 14

In August 2021, the Legal Department in conjunction with the Center for Combating Antisemitism wrote to university presidents and general counsels across the United States demanding action against antisemitism on campus. The letter alleged a “failure to uphold professional standards of conduct” in “certain academic departments’ conduct unprotected by the principles of academic freedom;” as “certain academic departments and student governments [were] improperly using university listservs and university social media accounts to disseminate politicized communications to students and faculty that marginalize students based on their Jewish ethnicity, Zionist identity, and Israeli national origin.” 15

The Legal Department again teamed with Center for Combating Antisemitism to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education in January 2023 against George Washington University professor Lara Sheehi, alleging the professor violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by creating a hostile and discriminatory environment for Jewish and Israeli students. 16 The professor, coauthor of the book Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine, accused GWU of “colluding” with StandWithUs. 17

Leadership

Yael Lerman is the founding director of the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department. Yael previously worked at the law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner in New York and in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) legal division. 18

Carly Gammill is the counsel for litigation strategy with the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department. She is also the founding director of the StandWithUs Center for Combating Antisemitism. 19 She began working for StandWithUs in 2018 and was previously senior litigation counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. 20

Jordan Cope is the StandWithUs director of policy education. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin law school. 21

Jodi Granite Lynch is a legal analyst and director of the StandWithUs Pro Bono Network. Lynch is a graduate of Hofstra Law School. 22

Shany Lousky-Levy is the associate legal director and chief of staff for StandWithUs-Israel. Lousky-Levy previously served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat fitness officer in the Paratroopers Brigade. 23

References

  1. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  2. StandWithUs Legal About. StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-about
  3. StandWithUs Legal About. StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-about
  4. “Yael Lerman” LinkedIn. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yael-lerman-b287363/
  5. “ Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  6. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  7. “Naty Saidoff.” Israeli American Council. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.israeliamerican.org/national/team-member/naty-saidoff
  8. StandWithUs Legal About. StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-about
  9. StandWithUs Legal About. StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-about
  10. StandWithUs Legal About. StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-about
  11. “Presentations.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/book-a-speaker
  12. Letter to Florida State University President and Board of Trustees. “StandWithUs Response to Antisemitism at FSU.” StandWithUs. June 18, 2020. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/post/standwithus-response-to-antisemitism-at-fsu
  13. “UCLA Student & StandWithUs Submit Title VI Complaint Against UCLA Alleging Inaction on Antisemitism.” Campus Watch. October 7, 2019. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/59534/ucla-student-standwithus-submit-title-vi
  14. Letter to Middlebury College President Laurie L. Patton. “StandWithUs to Middlebury College: Take Action Against Rising Antisemitism.” StandWithUs. May 12, 2021. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/post/standwithus-to-middlebury-college-take-action-against-rising-antisemitism
  15. Letter to University Presidents and General Counsels. “StandWithUs Letter Demands University Action Against Anti-Israel Activism.” StandWithUs. August 10, 2021. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/post/standwithus-demands-university-action-against-online-anti-israel-activism
  16. Press Release. “StandWithUs files Title VI complaint against GWU for discriminatory, retaliatory antisemitic conduct.” StandWithUs. January 12, 2023. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/post/standwithus-files-title-vi-complaint-against-gwu-for-discriminatory-retaliatory-antisemitic-conduct
  17. McGreal, Chris. “George Washington University accused of ‘colluding’ with rightwing pro-Israel group.” The Guardian. February 12, 2023. Accessed November 10, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/12/george-washington-university-standwithus-lara-sheehi-complaint
  18. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  19. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  20. Carly F. Gammill. LinkedIn. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-f-gammill-2670082/
  21. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  22. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
  23. “Our Team.” StandWithUs. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://www.standwithus.com/legal-our-team
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