What We Do
The global rise of antizionism and antisemitism has exposed a critical gap in legal scholarship and policy. While antizionist activists in academia have developed sophisticated and deeply misleading frameworks that distort Jewish identity, history, and peoplehood, the legal community has not effectively countered these narratives with Jewish-identity-centered legal scholarship.
As a result, anti-Jewish, anti-Israel rhetoric and narratives increasingly shape academic and legal discourse.
The consequences are tangible. In the recent First Circuit Court of Appeals case, StandWithUs v. MIT (First Circuit, 2025), the court dismissed legitimate claims of antisemitic harassment, citing “no consensus” in legal scholarship about the connection between antizionism and antisemitism.
This moment demands the establishment of Jewish Legal Studies—a field that equips scholars, attorneys, judges, and policymakers with the research-based theories and frameworks necessary to understand and confront contemporary forms of Jew-hatred.
Jewish organizations across the country are doing heroic work confronting antisemitism through strategic litigation, advocacy, and policy. Yet none are charged with building the scholarly infrastructure, analytical frameworks, and legal strategies for:
legal practitioners to challenge antisemitism and defend Jewish civil rights;
judges to recognize and address antisemitism in its contemporary forms; and
policymakers to draft and support principled laws and policies that safeguard Jewish communities and the U.S.-Israel relationship.
CJLS fills this critical gap through scholarship, education, and Israel engagement.