An Open Letter to University Presidents
7 min read
The human rights lawyer comes from a long line of fighters.
On December 6, 2017, the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Though the day was momentous, the work that went into this historic move started nearly two decades prior. Just ask Alyza Lewin, whose tireless efforts directly contributed to the decision.
Back in 2002, Lewin’s friend gave birth to a son named Menachem Zivotofsky in Jerusalem. She wanted to put “Jerusalem, Israel” as the birthplace on Menachem’s U.S. passport, but the State Department would not allow her to put Israel – even though there was a law, section 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY2003, on the books that said it was allowed. The State Department had simply refused to enforce it. Lewin, along with her father Nathan Lewin, who is also a prominent attorney, brought forward a suit to ensure the law would be upheld.
Alyza Lewin outside the Supreme Court with Menachem and Ari Zivotofsky
What came next felt like a failure to Lewin. The Supreme Court struck down the law saying Americans could list their birthplace as Israel, saying that the president of the U.S. has the exclusive authority to recognize foreign sovereigns.
Lewin was disappointed, until years later when President Trump used that same law to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“Our case paved the way for Trump to be able to do what he did,” Lewin said. “Now, no one, except for a future president, could undo it.”
Lewin said the case showed her that there is divine providence in the world.
“We never know why things happen the way they do or the ripple effect of our own actions, but if you are blessed to live long enough you might see the arc,” she said.
Alyza and her father, Nathan Lewin
And when the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital was finalized, Menachem Zivotofsky was the first person to receive a U.S. passport listing Israel as the birthplace.
“As a baby, he was our youngest client,” Lewin said.
When Lewin was a young child, she didn’t know that her father Nathan Lewin, grandson of the chief rabbi of Rzeszow, was famous. She wasn’t aware that Nathan, a Holocaust survivor who had gone to the Supreme Court many times to argue cases, was a staunch defender of the Jewish people. He argued for Jews to have the right to display a menorah in public places; he represented an Air Force psychologist who wanted to wear a yarmulke and his military uniform in a case that went to the Supreme Court; and he represented a Satmar Kiryat Joel school for handicapped children for another Supreme Court case.
One day, when Alyza was eight years old, she was walking with her father in New York City when someone stopped him on the street.
“They told him they’d seen him on TV,” she said. “I asked my dad who that was. He said, ‘I don’t know. It’s someone who wants to talk about my case.’ I thought, ‘Wow, that’s my father.’”
Lewin and the rest of her family would go and watch her father work at the Supreme Court. She found all of it fascinating.
“I always wanted to understand that he did better,” she said. “I didn’t know whether I wanted to practice the law, but I could see myself working with him at some point.”
Lewin comes from a long line of fighters. During the Holocaust, her grandmother, her father’s mother, came up with a plan to get her family out of Poland and then Lithuania. It involved getting a transit visa to go through Japan; at the age of four, Lewin’s father took the Trans-Siberian Railway and traveled across Russia and Japan. Eventually, he settled in the U.S with his family.
“As a teenager, I saw photos o the Łódź Ghetto and thought about how a miraculous twist of fate enabled me to be born in the U.S.,” Lewin said. “I’m very grateful for that.”
Lewin’s grandmother on her mother’s side was born in the Old City in Jerusalem when it was under Ottoman rule, so she’s always felt connected to Israel.
“I grew up with very strong feelings that the two most significant moments in recent Jewish history – the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel – are my personal history,” she said.
When it was time for Lewin to pick a career path, she was compelled to become a lawyer and continue her father’s legacy. She got her J.D. from New York University School of Law and co-founded Lewin & Lewin, LLP with her father. She also serves as president and general counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which is a non-profit that advances the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and combats rising antisemitism on college campuses.
Alyza talking with Ken Marcus, Founder and Chair of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights
Along with the passport case, Lewin has taken on a number of prominent cases. Recently, she represented Avi Zinger, the Israeli licensee of Ben & Jerry's who was fighting to keep selling all throughout Israel and to the Palestinians after the ice cream company said it was ceasing sales in those areas.
“Avi was selling everywhere: to Jews, to Christians, to Arabs, and they said he had to stop selling in the territories,” Lewin said. “Avi said he couldn’t do it. It was a violation of Israeli law to discriminate based on where someone lives. And, it would have harmed the Palestinians, the largest consumers of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the area.”
Did Lewin think the Ben & Jerry’s decision was antisemitic?
“There were antisemitic protestors in Vermont for years who put pressure on Ben and Jerry to end their relationship with Avi and Israel,” she said. “Also, anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism. Zionism is not a viewpoint. It’s not a political opinion. It’s the celebration of our history and heritage and an integral part of what it means to us to be Jewish.”
Through her work at the Brandeis Center, Lewin deals with antisemitic incidences constantly. For instance, at the University of Southern California, Rose Ritch, the USC Undergraduate Student Government (USG) vice president, was targeted for being Jewish. Students there harassed her with antisemitic messages and tried to exclude her from participating on campus, going so far as to attempting to impeach her.
In response, the Brandeis Center sent a letter to USC reminding them of their legal obligations to protect Ritch under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which mandates that universities, and all entities that are receiving federal funding, protect students from discrimination and harassment based on color, race, or national origin. USC subsequently halted the impeachment.
“We’ve seen an increase in Jewish students who are being pushed out of clubs, student governments, and communities on campus because they are Jewish,” she said. “If they appear Jewish, it’s assumed they must believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish homeland, and if they believe that, they are considered pariahs.”
The Brandeis Center helps students articulate what they are experiencing on campus so that universities will recognize and put a stop to the antisemitism.
“Universities have a legal obligation to protect students on their campus from discrimination and harassment,” she said.
With all of Lewin’s work, she hopes to be a pivotal part of the civil rights movement she believes is happening for Jews right now.
“I grew up watching my father protect Jews’ religious rights,” she said. “What I realized is that it’s not enough anymore. We have to protect Jews based on ancestry and history as well.”
She continued, “We have every right to take pride in our Judaism and fully engage in society. My hope is to be able to give Jews the confidence to express their identity and help ensure the laws protect our ability to fully engage in society.”
