‘Denial and Erasure of Jewish Identity Threatens Civil Rights and Liberties,’ CAM’s Alyza Lewin Warns

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) was honored to participate in a Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) celebration on Tuesday organized by the judges of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida.

The event, titled “The Jewish American Experience: Confronting Antisemitism,” was held at the federal courthouse in Miami and attended by an audience of distinguished lawyers and jurists.

Representing CAM, President of U.S. Affairs Alyza Lewin joined a panel discussion alongside Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo, Dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

The panel was moderated by the Honorable U.S. District Judge Southern District of Florida David S. Leibowitz.

In her remarks, Lewin offered expert insights to members of the Bar into understanding, recognizing, and addressing all forms of modern-day antisemitism in their work.

Lewin also spoke this week at a Birthright Israel Foundation event in Boston, where she was interviewed by National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) Legal Fellow Adela Cojab.

Lewin said, “If you deny that the Jews are a people and you try to erase our history and heritage rooted in the Land of Israel, and you claim that we are defined only by faith, you’re also seeking to erase the legal protections that we as Jews have under laws like Title VI.”

“The discrimination we’re seeing on campuses and the discrimination we’re seeing on the streets of New York and Boston isn’t based on faith, it’s based on the concept of identity,” she continued. “There is a need for lawmakers and judges and law enforcement officers to recognize and understand there are those out there who are hostile to the very concept that the Jews are a people indigenous to Judea. They want to erase and deny that. That threatens our civil rights and our civil liberties.”

“So what we need and what is essential for us to win this legal battle, as well as to protect and ensure the safety and continuity of the Jewish people, is to make sure our youth feel confident and strong in embracing and celebrating our Jewish history, our Jewish heritage, our Jewish peoplehood, and our ancestral connection to Israel,” Lewin emphasized.

Watch Lewin’s full conversation with Cojab HERE:

Read more:

‘Jewish History, Ancestry, Theology, Customs, and Culture Are Inextricably Intertwined With Israel,’ CAM’s Alyza Lewin Tells NYC Council Antisemitism Task Force

Universities Must Protect Jewish Students With Same ‘Rigor and Vigor’ as Other Groups, CAM Official Says at DC Forum