Israel Bar Association hails influence afforded by new deal with New York State Bar
Yonit Calmanovich, head of IBA’s international department, says spots on key New York bar association committees will allow for input on issues of antisemitism, international law
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
The Israel Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association recently signed an agreement designed to strengthen cooperation on combating hate crimes and upholding judicial independence, which the IBA says will give Israeli lawyers the ability to influence key issues of law that affect Israel and the Jewish community in the US.
The agreement will allow Israeli attorneys to join the NYSBA for a reduced fee, which will include membership in the association’s professional committees, something that will afford the Israeli members the ability to give their input on matters such as antisemitism, human rights, international law and other concerns.
Since these committees have the ability to submit position papers to the US Congress, this will also give Israeli attorneys the ability to weigh in on such matters at a national level, said Yonit Calmanovich, head of the IBA’s international department, who was the driving force behind the delegation.
The Committee on Civil Rights, the Labor Committee where issues regarding discrimination against Jews and Israeli nationals may arise, the Education Committee, as well as several panels in the association’s International Section such as the Human Rights Committee and Public International Law Committee are all forums where the participation of Israeli attorneys could have a real impact, Calmanovich added.
The memorandum of understanding signed on March 4 pledges to strengthen cooperation “in combating hate crimes, bias discrimination and identity based hatred.”
It was signed during a visit by a high-level IBA delegation to New York that included former Supreme Court justice Yoram Danzinger, former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit, IBA head Amit Becher, and Calmanovich.
Antisemitism in New York City and across the US has been on the rise for several years, and exploded in the wake of the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas and the conflict that erupted in Gaza as a result.
The Anti-Defamation League put the number of antisemitic incidents in the US in the three months following October 7 at almost the entire annual total for 2022, and the New York Police Department reported in February that antisemitic incidents in the city had doubled in the four months following the terror assault.
The delegation addressed the issue during its trip when it met with senior NYPD officials who outlined their efforts to combat the phenomenon and protect the New York Jewish community.
The delegation also met with key New York legal figures, including Attorney General Letitia James, US Congressman and former federal prosecutor Dan Goldman, activists in the American Jewish community and members of senior faculty at leading law faculties in New York State.
The signed agreement also agrees to strengthen cooperation to support “the rule of law” and highlighted “how important judicial independence is in the United States and Israel,” a allusion to the Israeli government’s largely shelved judicial overhaul agenda, which numerous legal experts, including international scholars, said posed a severe threat to Israeli democracy.
Becher was a vociferous opponent of the judicial overhaul agenda and his victory in the elections for head of the association in June last year ensured that a liberal majority against the governing coalition’s representatives was preserved on the key Judicial Selection Committee.
“I am grateful to Israel Bar Association President Amit Becher for having the foresight to forge this alliance with us. I admire the fight he and his colleagues are waging for judicial independence in their homeland,” said NYSBA President Richard Lewis at the signing ceremony.
In a joint statement, Becher and Calmanovich said the strengthening of professional ties with the NYSBA was “of great importance for advancing [Israeli] national public diplomacy” and for strengthening professional ties between the two bodies.
They said that in their meetings with state officials, government officials, and law faculty members, they brought up issues such as “the importance of an independent and independent judicial authority, which is one of the main features of the democratic regime in Israel, while emphasizing the vital role played by the Israeli justice system in safeguarding human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law, all the more so in times of war.”
Becher and Calmanovich added: “May these efforts taken by the NYSBA bring us another step closer on the road to freeing all the hostages [held in Gaza] and strengthening the position of the State of Israel as a strong and solid democracy.”
