BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20230312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20231105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20270314T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20271107T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260202T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260203T170000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20260109T203748Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260120T124358Z UID:1901-1770019200-1770138000@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Sexual Violence and Antisemitism: Perspectives from International Law\, Halakha\, and Feminist Theory” Monday February 2 - Tuesday February 3\, 2026 DESCRIPTION:Sexual Violence and Antisemitism:\nPerspectives from International Law\, Halakha and Feminist Theory\nHarvard University\, February 2–3\, 2026 \nThis academic conference brings together an international group of scholars to examine the\nhistorical\, legal\, and theoretical intersections of antisemitism and sexual violence. Building\non a Eirst workshop held in 2025 at the Katz Center\, University of Pennsylvania\, this\nconference explores how recent scholarship on sexual violence against Jews reshapes our\nunderstanding of antisemitism\, its motivations and its impact on victims. Particular\nattention will be given to the difEiculties—and urgency—of studying sexual violence and\nantisemitism in the current political and intellectual climate. \nSpeakers include: Sarai Aharoni\, Lotem Bassan-Nygate Elissa Bemporad\, Christina von\nBraun\, Dara Kay Cohen\, Thorsten Fuchshuber\, Rachel Furst\, Anna Hájková\, Ruth Halperin-\nKaddari\, Tamar Herzig\, Kara Jesella\, William Ross Jones\, Thomas Kühne\, Elissa Mailänder\,\nTiarra Maznick\, and Leah Sarna\, among others. \nDaytime panels will cover the following topics:\n–Antisemitism and Fantasies of Sexual Violence\n–Antisemitic Sexual Violence from Medieval to Modern Europe\n–Challenges to Implicit Heteronormativity in Holocaust Inquiry\n–The Effects of Exposing Silence on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence \nA panel on Monday evening from 7-9 p.m. will address the topic of Justice for Victims of\nConElict-Related Sexual Violence: October 7 and Beyond. This session will also be available\nas a webcast: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/95577331866 \nRegistration is required to receive the program and attend the conference in person\nand/or to receive the link to the webcast. Contact: Jennifer.M.Thomas@Dartmouth.edu \nThe conference is convened by Susannah Heschel\, Dartmouth College; Anna-Carolin Augustin\,\nGerman Historical Institute (Washington\, D.C.); and Sonya Michel\, University of Maryland\,\nwith the support of a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation and the Jewish Studies\nProgram at Dartmouth College. The conference is hosted by the Julis-Rabinowitz Program in\nJewish and Israeli Law at Harvard University\, Noah Feldman\, Founding Director\nSusan Kahn\, Associate Director \n  URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/sexual-violence-and-antisemitism-perspectives-from-international-law-halakha-and-feminist-theory-monday-february-2-tuesday-february-3-2026/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251214T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251216T170000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T200714Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250825T200714Z UID:1350-1765699200-1765904400@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"What is the Bavli?" a roundtable at the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference organized by the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard Law School DESCRIPTION:December 14-16\, Washington DC\n“What is the Bavli?”\nModerator: Christine Hayes and Jay Harris\nDiscussants: Julia Watts Belser\, Alyssa Gray\, Simcha Gross\, Isaac Landes URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/what-is-the-bavli-a-roundtable-at-the-association-for-jewish-studies-annual-conference-organized-by-the-julis-rabinowitz-program-on-jewish-and-israeli-law-at-harvard-law-school/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251201T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251201T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T194628Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251121T190206Z UID:1329-1764591300-1764595800@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Difference Between Freedom and Liberation: War\, Violence and the State in Tamares\, Teitelbaum & Kook with Shaul Magid\, Harvard University DESCRIPTION:In this talk Magid briefly explores the subject of violence and war through the work of three rabbinic thinkers in the twentieth century: Aaron Shmuel Tamares\, Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar\, and Abraham Isaac Kook. All three have the concept of nationalism in their sights\, understanding\, as other scholars have argued\, that nationalism contains the hazard\, even inevitability\, of violence\, both in its construction and in its maintenance. They each examine violence and war through the lens of nationalism\, the nation-state\, and Zionism. In each case we find different\, yet also overlapping\, interpretations of violence refracted through the classical Jewish tradition coupled with the challenges of modern statecraft.\nShaul Magid is Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence at Harvard Divinity School. Magid’s research bridges centuries and disciplines\, exploring topics from sixteenth-century Kabbalistic mysticism and Hasidism\, including its spiritual ties to Christianity\, to contemporary American Judaism\, Jewish identity\, race\, and critical theory. His groundbreaking work engages a broad spectrum of readers\, combining deep textual analysis with theoretical sophistication. Magid is the author of eight books and more than 75 scholarly articles. He has also written over 150 essays\, offering insight into the cultural\, political\, and spiritual dimensions of modern Jewish life. Magid is also a Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/violence-war-and-nationalism-in-three-traditional-modern-jewish-thinkers-aaron-shmuel-tamares-yoel-teitelbaum-and-abraham-isaac-kook-with-shaul-magid/ LOCATION:Hauser 102 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251125T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251125T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T200502Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250825T200502Z UID:1347-1764072900-1764077400@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"The Shamama Case: Contesting Citizenship across the Modern Mediterranean" with Jessica Marglin\, Harvard University DESCRIPTION: \nHow a nineteenth-century lawsuit over the estate of a wealthy Tunisian Jew shines new light on the history of belonging. URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-shamama-case-contesting-citizenship-across-the-modern-mediterranean-with-jessica-marglin-harvard-university/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251121T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251121T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20251028T154539Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251028T154539Z UID:1446-1763727300-1763730900@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"Law\, Sovereignty\, and Political Theology: Jewish Thought in Conversation with Carl Schmitt" a talk by Miguel Vatter DESCRIPTION:Professor Miguel Vatter is Professor of Politics\, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation\, Deakin University; and currently a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study\, Princeton URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/law-sovereignty-and-political-theology-jewish-thought-in-conversation-with-carl-schmitt-a-talk-by-miguel-vatter/ LOCATION:Wasserstein 3011 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251119T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251119T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T200252Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250825T200252Z UID:1345-1763554500-1763559000@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:'The Law is Not in Heaven': Authority and Covenant in Jewish Political Thought” with Sarah Greenberg\, Harvard University DESCRIPTION: URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-law-is-not-in-heaven-authority-and-covenant-in-jewish-political-thought-with-sarah-greenberg-harvard-university/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251117T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251117T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T200111Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251028T154304Z UID:1342-1763381700-1763386200@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Legal Definitions of Genocide” with Omer Bartov\, Brown University : moderated by Noah Feldman DESCRIPTION: URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/legal-definitions-of-genocide-with-omer-bartov-brown-university/ LOCATION:Wasserstein 1010 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251029T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251029T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20251009T162228Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251020T211004Z UID:1397-1761740100-1761743700@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"The Israeli Supreme Court and the War on Gaza" (via zoom) with Yahli Shereshevsky\, Haifa University DESCRIPTION:Dr. Shereshevsky will discuss recent cases in the Israeli Supreme Court in the context of the war in Gaza and how the Court’s approach can be explained through broader discussions of the application of international law in domestic courts. Specifically\, he will examine these cases against the backdrop of the various international proceedings related to the war\, as well as the recent domestic tensions between the executive branch and the judiciary. \nDr. Yahli Shereshevsky is an Associate Professor at the University of Haifa Law School. He was previously a post-doctoral fellow at the Federmann Cyber Security Reserach Center\, the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions\, and a Grotius Research Scholar at the University of Michigan Law School. Yahli specializes in international law\, focusing on international humanitarian law\, international lawmaking\, international legal theory\, war and technology\, and international criminal law. \nYahli received his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem\, where he was a Hans-Guth Dreyfus Fellow for Conflict Resolution and the Law and was enrolled in the Hoffman Leadership and Responsibility Fellowship Program. Yahli holds an LLB in Law and the “Amirim” Interdisciplinary Honors Program for Outstanding Students (summa cum laude) from the Hebrew University. He clerked for the Honorable Deputy Chief Justice Eliezer Rivlin of the Supreme Court of Israel. Yahli’s work has been published in leading journals including the European Journal of International Law\, the Virginia Journal of International Law\, The Michigan Journal of International Law\, and the Journal of International Criminal Justice. \nJOIN VIA ZOOM:  https://harvard.zoom.us/j/97439197395 URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-israeli-supreme-court-and-the-war-on-gaza-via-zoom-with-yahli-shereshevsky-haifa-university/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251027T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251027T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T195942Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T133736Z UID:1340-1761567300-1761571800@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Work of the Israeli Supreme Court in Times of National Emergency: A Talk by Justice Khaled Kabub\, Israeli Supreme Court DESCRIPTION: URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/a-talk-by-justice-khaled-kabub-israeli-supreme-court/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 102\, 1545 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T170000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T195419Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251020T193059Z UID:1337-1761148800-1761152400@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"Mystical Nihilism\, Theopolitics\, Ethics\, and the Law Beyond Law" with Elliot Wolfson\, UC Santa Barbara\, Emeritus DESCRIPTION: \nThis lecture will explore the notion of venturing to the law beyond the law particularly as it is implied by mystical nihilism. My argument pivots around the assumption that the skepticism of faith\, endemic to nihilistic encounter with the nothing on the part of mystics\, resonates with the insubordinate proclivity of the Jewish esoteric tradition\, what I have referred to in my previous scholarship as the hypernomian trespassing of the boundary that preserves the very boundary that is trespassed. The shift in nomenclature from antinomianism to hypernomianism conveys that the mystical does not coerce an anarchic suspension of the law but rather its irresolute overcoming through relentless undergoing\, the surpassing of the path by suffering its unremitting abiding. Kabbalistic sources impart the truism that release from the law is not attained by discarding the law but by executing the law with an intensity that pushes past its perimeter even as that perimeter is preserved in the act of defiance. The limitlessness of the hypernomian is thus confined within the limits of the nomos.\n \nElliot R. Wolfson\, PhD\, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Jewish Research and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies; and a Distinguished Professor of Religion at the University of California\, Santa Barbara. He is the author of many publications including most recently The Duplicity of Philosophy’s Shadow: Heidegger\, Nazism and the Jewish Other (2018); Heidegger and Kabbalah: Hidden Gnosis and the Path of Poiēsis (2019); Suffering Time: Philosophical\, Kabbalistic\, and Ḥasidic Reflections on Temporality (2021); The Philosophical Pathos of Susan Taubes: Between Nihilism and Hope (2023); and Nocturnal Seeing: Hopelessness of Hope and Philosophical Gnosis in Susan Taubes\, Gillian Rose\, and Edith Wyschogrod (2025). URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/mystical-nihilism-theopolitics-ethics-and-the-law-beyond-law-with-eliot-wolfson-uc-santa-barbara-emeritus/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 102\, 1545 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251020T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251020T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T195019Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T155834Z UID:1333-1760962500-1760967000@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"What Do Universities Owe Jews under Title VI\, and Why?" with Robert Katz\, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law DESCRIPTION:What do universities owe Jews under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? The answer depends on why Title VI protects Jews – that is\, its legal basis for doing so. Title VI prohibits universities from tolerating discrimination “on the ground of race\, color\, and national origin.” Notably\, Title VI –unlike Title VII—does not address discrimination based on “religion.” Title VI’s disjunctive language invites interpreters to disaggregate Jewishness into “race” and “religion” and to extend the statute’s protections to Jews in their racial capacity but not their religious. If this interpretive move succeeds\, universities might be permitted to address anti-Jewish discrimination only when motivated by racial antisemitism\, leaving them free to ignore such discrimination when motivated solely by religious antisemitism.  This disaggregative approach runs counter to strong precedent for the proposition that “Jewishness” as such is a protected characteristic under federal anti-discrimination law. As applied to Jews\, the terms “race” and “religion” serve as statutory placeholders for Jewishness\, which may be serviceably attached to either category\, or both. Moreover\, this approach is sociologically inaccurate: as an ethnoreligious phenomenon\, Jewishness cannot be meaningfully reduced to either ethnicity or religion. Lastly\, there are good reasons to avoid categorizing Jews as a “race” under Title VI\, as this risks reinforcing racialized thinking about Jews in broader society. This is playing with fire. \nRobert Katz’s new casebook is “Antisemitism and the Law.” It serves as a vital resource for understanding the legal history of antisemitism and legal strategies to combat it. It explores how legal systems have been wielded both to oppress Jews and to fight antisemitism\, offering a global and historical perspective on the intersection of law and antisemitism. URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/antisemitism-and-the-law-a-new-casebook-robert-katz-indiana-university-robert-h-mckinney-school-of-law/ LOCATION:Wasserstein 3007 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20251010T151403Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251010T151444Z UID:1404-1760444100-1760447700@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Property Rights and National Identities in Jerusalem - The Case of the Armenian Quarter with Dr. Sami Ershied DESCRIPTION:How does a case of property ownership become a case of minority identity? What are the unique legal aspects of property cases in Jerusalem? What can we learn from the the current legal battles to protect property in Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter? The Legal Status of property possession and ownership in Jerusalem derives from the unique legal status of the city in international and domestic Law and the ways it is affected by historic and political changes. One of the most ancient national-religious groups in Jerusalem is the Christian Armenian Community in the Old City.\nIn the last four years\, Sami Ershied has represented this small community in its legal struggle to protect their property in the Armenian Quarter.  \nDr. Adv. Sami Ershied\, is a Jerusalem-based lawyer\, who specializes in Public Law\, Human Rights Law\, Property and Financial Law. His practical work focuses on the representation of communities under the risk of Displacement. Among the cases that he handles\, he has represented the community of Sheikh Jarrah during the past 15 years to prevent the eviction of the community members from their homes. He has also presented numerous cases before the Israeli supreme court for the property protection of minority communities in Jerusalem. He holds an LLB from the Hebrew University\, an LLM from the University of Sussex in England and a PhD from the Hebrew University.  In addition\, Dr. Ershied advises planning bodies\, local and central authorities. He also lectures at the Law Faculty and the Business Administration School of the Hebrew University\, focusing on Transitional Justice\, Development and Finance. URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/property-rights-and-national-identities-in-jerusalem-the-case-of-the-armenian-quarter-with-dr-sami-ershied/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 102\, 1545 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250917T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250917T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250825T194759Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250908T121314Z UID:1331-1758111300-1758115800@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"Israeli Supreme Court Jurisprudence on the Conscription of Ultra-Orthodox Students - Recent Developments" with Avi Milikovsky\, Avi Milikovsky\, Senior Attorney (On Leave)\, High Court of Justice Department\, Israeli State Attorney’s Office DESCRIPTION:  URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/israeli-supreme-court-jurisprudence-on-the-conscription-of-ultra-orthodox-students-recent-developments-with-avi-milikovsky/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250916T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250916T200000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250723T114431Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250827T115041Z UID:1304-1758038400-1758052800@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“The Jewish Problem\, Then and Now: Rethinking Louis Brandeis’s Liberalism” DESCRIPTION:A Symposium sponsored by the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at the Harvard Law School  \n*Sep. 16\, 2025*   \nPOUND HALL 101\n1563 Massachusetts Avenue\nCambridge\, MA 02138 \nZOOM LINK \n2025 marks the 110th anniversary of Louis Brandeis’s famous essay\, “The Jewish Problem – How to Solve It.” Taking as his point of departure the persistence of antisemitism in the twentieth-century world\, Brandeis laid out a diagnosis of liberalism’s challenges and a positive vision for its future. His essay also marked a major statement on liberal Zionism and the rationale for American Jewish commitment to reconciling Jewish nationalism and American democracy. A century later\, we revisit this text and the broader Brandeisian legacy to think about the contemporary questions of liberalism and Zionism\, law and economics\, and citizenship and group rights in American law.  \nSymposium Chairs: Noah Feldman\, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law\, Harvard Law School and James Loeffler\, Felix Posen Professor of Modern Jewish History\, Johns Hopkins University \nWith William Forbath (Univ. of Texas\, Austin)\, Amalia Kessler (Stanford)\, Linda Kinstler (Harvard)\, Shaul Magid (Harvard)\, Eric Nelson (Harvard)\, Simon Rabinovitch (Northeastern)\, and Laura Weinrib (Harvard) \nEvent Schedule \n4pm\nWelcome from James Loeffler and Noah Feldman \n4:15 – 5:30pm\nWilliam Forbath “Brandeis and his Jewish Socialist Critics & Collaborators on Zionism & Industrial Democracy”  \nAmalia Kessler “Arbitration and the Jewish Question\, 1900-1950”  \nSimon Rabinovitch Moderator  \n5:30-6:30pm\nShaul Magid “Jewish Nationality\, Nationhood\, and Diaspora Nationalism: Reading Mordecai Kaplan and Daniel Boyarin through Louis Brandeis” \nLaura Weinrib “Free Speech\, Group Rights\, and Jewish Identity” \nLinda Kinstler moderator \n6:45-7:45pm \nKeynote: “Brandeis’s Jewish Question(s): Global Liberalism Reconsidered”\nJames Loeffler\nResponse: Noah Feldman\nModerator: Eric Nelson \n(Thank you to Nutter\, McClennen & Fish\, LLP for their support) URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-jewish-problem-and-how-to-solve-it-a-public-symposium-on-the-110th-anniversary-of-louis-brandeis-famous-essay/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Louis-Brandeis.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250422T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250422T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T191026Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T191026Z UID:1055-1745324100-1745327700@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:"Gendering the Eunuch: Talmudic Discourse and Trans/Queer Temporalities" wtih Jay Michaelson\, moderated by Noah Feldman DESCRIPTION:Jay Michaelson\, Caroline Zelaznik Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss Visiting Professor in Talmudic Civil Law\, Harvard Law School \nModerated by Noah Feldman\, Director Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/gendering-the-eunuch-talmudic-discourse-and-trans-queer-temporalities-wtih-jay-michaelson-moderated-by-noah-feldman/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250408T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250408T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T190849Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T190849Z UID:1053-1744114500-1744118100@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Colonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship” with Yael Berda moderated by Mark Tushnet DESCRIPTION:Yael Berda\, Associate Professor\, Sociology & Anthropology\, Hebrew University\nModerated by Mark Tushnet\, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law\, Emeritus\, Harvard Law School\nColonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship examines how the legacies of colonial bureaucracy continue to shape political life after empire. Focusing on the former British colonies of India\, Cyprus\, and Israel/Palestine\, the book explores how post-colonial states use their inherited administrative legacies to classify and distinguish between loyal and suspicious subjects and manage the movement of populations\, thus shaping the practical meaning of citizenship and belonging within their new boundaries. The book offers a novel institutional theory of ‘hybrid bureaucracy’ to explain how racialized bureaucratic practices were used by powerful administrators in state organizations to shape the making of political identity and belonging in the new states. Combining sociology and anthropology of the state with the study of institutions\, this book offers new knowledge to overturn conventional understandings of bureaucracy\, demonstrating that routine bureaucratic practices and persistent colonial logics continue to shape unequal political status to this day. URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/colonial-bureaucracy-and-contemporary-citizenship-with-yael-berda-moderated-by-mark-tushnet/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 104\, 1545 Massachusetts Avenue\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250403T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250403T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T190554Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T190554Z UID:1052-1743682500-1743686100@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Modern Responsa: An Anthology of Jewish Ethical and Ritual Decisions” with Pamela Barmash\, moderated by Adriaan Lanni DESCRIPTION:Book Talk by Pamela Barmash on her new book (JPS 2024) \nAn original anthology of modern responsa (Jewish ethical and ritual decision-making) by rabbinic authorities\, men and women\, across movements (Conservative\, Orthodox\, Reform)\, geographic locales\, and ethnicities (Ashkenazic\, Sefardic\, Mizraḥi)\, Modern Responsa engages readers in understanding how rabbis expert in Jewish law apply principles\, precedents\, and rules from Judaism’s legal tradition to real-life issues. \nResponsa on ten topics—personal and business ethics\, ritual\, personal status\, women\, LGBTQIA+ people\, medical ethics\, the COVID-19 pandemic\, relationships with the other\, the modern State of Israel\, and Jewish life in the United States—showcase how the rabbinic decisors who wrote them handle modern quandaries for their communities. (To see all of the questions\, access the Table of Contents under the Excerpt & Resources tab.) Pamela Barmash’s translations open up most of these original Hebrew texts to English-speaking readers for the first time. Sometimes the decisors disagree—but other times they rule similarly\, despite differing ideological commitments. Clear explanations of how the decisors build their arguments along with historical background\, decisor biographies\, implications\, and a glossary enable general adult and teen readers as well as scholars to grasp the finer points of Jewish ethical and ritual decision-making. An online study guide\, available under the Excerpt & Resources tab\, facilitates teaching this vital material. \nUltimately\, Modern Responsa illuminates the dynamic nature of Jewish law\, the creativity of Jewish legal writings\, and the multidimensionality of the Jewish experience in modernity. \nPraise\n“An exemplary achievement—an original\, sophisticated\, topical\, and accessible contribution to the field of Jewish law in general and the responsa literature in particular.”—Rabbi David Ellenson\, chancellor emeritus\, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion\n“The brilliance of Modern Responsa’s idea and structure is matched only by the author’s skill in executing it. Barmash enables readers to experience the range of Jewish approaches to profound moral questions—and our tradition’s ability to respond to changing circumstances.”—Rabbi Jan Uhrbach\, associate editor of Siddur Lev Shalem for Shabbat and Festivals\n“A splendid book by a master educator offering broad\, brilliant insight into Jewish society and different types of Jewish legal thinking.”—Marc Zvi Brettler\, Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies\, Duke University \n  \n \n  \nPamela Barmash\, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Biblical Hebrew\, Washington University \nModerated by Adriaan Lanni\, Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law\, Harvard Law School URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/modern-responsa-an-anthology-of-jewish-ethical-and-ritual-decisions-with-pamela-barmash-moderated-by-adriaan-lanni/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250402T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250402T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T190238Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T190238Z UID:1050-1743596100-1743599700@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Legal Perspectives on Attacks on Health Care During the War in Gaza" with Yasmeen Abu-Fraiha\, moderated by Ioannis Kapoulzos DESCRIPTION:Yasmeen Abu-Fraiha\, Fellow\, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs\, Harvard University and former Health Policy Director at the Task Force for Health Promotion and Equity in the Arab Society at the Israeli Ministry of Health\nModerated by Ioannis Kalpouzos\,  Visiting Professor of Law\, Harvard Law School URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/legal-perspectives-on-attacks-on-health-care-during-the-war-in-gaza-with-yasmeen-abu-fraiha-moderated-by-ioannis-kapoulzos/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 103\, 1545 Massachusetts Av\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250312T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250312T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T185954Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T185954Z UID:1048-1741781700-1741785300@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Israel/Palestine in International Law" with Zinaida Miller and Salma Waheedi moderated by Guy Priver DESCRIPTION:Zinaida Miller\, Professor of Law and International Affairs; Faculty Co-Director\, Center for Global Law and Justice; Faculty Co-Director\, Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy\, Northeastern University\nSalma Waheedi\, Lecturer on Law and Executive Director of the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World at Harvard Law School\nModerated by Guy Priver\, SJD candidate\, Harvard Law School URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/israel-palestine-in-international-law-with-zinaida-miller-and-salma-waheedi-moderated-by-guy-priver/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 102\, 1545 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250311T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250311T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T185559Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T185649Z UID:1047-1741695300-1741698900@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Bridging Divides: A Grassroots Path to Constitutional Reform in Israel” with Ronen Avraham\, moderated by Nitsan Plitman DESCRIPTION:Ronen Avraham\, Professor of Law\, Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law \nModerated by Nitsan Plitman\, SJD candidate\, Harvard Law School URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/bridging-divides-a-grassroots-path-to-constitutional-reform-in-israel-with-ronen-avraham-moderated-by-nitsan-plitman/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250304T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250304T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T185133Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T185133Z UID:1045-1741090500-1741094100@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:“Back to Beauharnais: Antisemitism and the First Amendment” with James Loeffler DESCRIPTION:James Loeffler\, Felix Posen Professor in Modern Jewish History\, Johns Hopkins University\nModerated by Noah Feldman\, Director Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/back-to-beauharnais-antisemitism-and-the-first-amendment-with-james-loeffler/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250225T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250225T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250211T184816Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250219T152209Z UID:1043-1740485700-1740489300@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Elana Stein Hain on "Circumventing the Law: Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrity" DESCRIPTION:Elana Stein Hain\, Rosh Beit Midrash and Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America discusses her new book (University of Pennsylvania 2024) \nModerated by Lynn Kaye\, Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Thought\, Brandeis University \nCircumventing the Law probes the rabbinic logic behind the use of loopholes\, the legal phenomenon of finding and using gaps within law to achieve otherwise illegal outcomes. The logic of ha’aramah\, a subset of rabbinic legal circumventions mostly defined as a tool for private life\, underpins both well-known circumventions\, such as selling leaven before Passover\, and lesser-known mechanisms\, such as designating an animal intended for sacrifice “blemished” before birth to allow it to be slaughtered for food instead. Elana Stein Hain traces the development of these loopholes over time\, revealing that rabbinic literature does not consistently accept or reject loopholes. Instead\, rabbinic Judaism applies categories of evasion (prohibited)\, avoidance (permitted)\, and avoision (contested) to loopholes on a case-by-case basis. The intended outcome of a given loophole determines its classification\, as does the legal integrity of the circumventive process in question. \nYet these understandings of loopholes are not static―instead\, rabbinic attitudes toward loopholing change over time. Early works display an objective\, performative understanding of the self and of intention\, but evolve over time to reflect more subjective and intimate understanding of the self and intention. This evolution redefines what legal integrity means in Jewish legal philosophy. \nCircumventing the Law brings readers through the Second Temple period to the modern era to see how loopholing has evolved over millennia. With a focus on late antiquity\, Stein Hain explores tannaitic literature\, the Palestinian Talmud\, and contemporaneous Greco-Roman and Persian thought to show that when warranted\, Jewish rhetoric and philosophy around understandings of loopholes was a unique phenomenon that relied on changes in understanding the definition of integrity itself\, a key finding for scholars of Jewish Studies and of religious and of secular law writ large. \n  URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/elana-stein-hain-on-circumventing-the-law-rabbinic-perspectives-on-loopholes-and-legal-integrity/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250220T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250220T121500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250210T181414Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250210T181414Z UID:1040-1740053700-1740053700@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Rabbis\, Law\, and the Talmud in the Sasanian Empire: A New History DESCRIPTION:Simcha Gross\, Assistant Professor of Ancient Rabbinics\, University of Pennsylvania; Starr Fellow\, Center for Jewish Studies (Spring 2025)\, Harvard University \nModerated by Jay Harris\, Harry Austryn Wolfson Professor of Jewish Studies and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations\, Harvard University URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/rabbis-law-and-the-talmud-in-the-sasanian-empire-a-new-history/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250204T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250204T121500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20250210T181305Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250210T181305Z UID:1038-1738671300-1738671300@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Judicial Overhaul in Israel: A Political Perspective on Executive Aggrandizement DESCRIPTION:Oded Haklai\, Professor\, Department of Political Studies; Director\, Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity\, Queen’s University; Visiting Scholar\, Weatherhead Scholars Program\, Visiting Scholar\, Center for Jewish Studies\, Harvard University \nModerated by Daniel Ziblatt\, Director\, Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government\, Harvard University URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-judicial-overhaul-in-israel-a-political-perspective-on-executive-aggrandizement/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241203T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241203T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20240827T204521Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240827T204521Z UID:813-1733228100-1733231700@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:The Gentile as a Legal Concept in Ancient Judaism DESCRIPTION:Ishay Rosen-Zvi\, Professor and Chair\, Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud\, Tel-Aviv University and Gerard Weinstock Visiting Professor in Israel Studies at Harvard University (2024-2025) \nModerated by Jay Harris\, Harvard College Professor and Harry Austryn Wolfson Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard University URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-gentile-as-a-legal-concept-in-ancient-judaism/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20240827T204357Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240827T204357Z UID:812-1732104900-1732108500@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Natural Law in Maimonides Guide to the Perplexed DESCRIPTION:Lenn Goodman\, Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies\, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities\, Vanderbilt University \nModerated by Noah Feldman\, Director Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/natural-law-in-maimonides-guide-to-the-perplexed/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 105 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20240827T204133Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240827T204133Z UID:810-1732018500-1732022100@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Genetic Analysis of Medieval and Ancient Jews – Scientific Findings and Ethical Considerations DESCRIPTION:David Reich\, Professor of Genetics\, Harvard Medical School \nModerated by Noah Feldman\, Director Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/genetic-analysis-of-medieval-and-ancient-jews-scientific-findings-and-ethical-considerations/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241114T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241114T131500 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20240827T203710Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240827T204017Z UID:809-1731586500-1731590100@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Freedom of Speech in Jewish Law: Theoretical Ideals and Practical Realities DESCRIPTION:Aviad HaCohen\, Professor\, The Academic Center for Law and Science \nModerated by Menachem Butler\, Program Fellow\,  Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/freedom-of-speech-in-jewish-law-theoretical-ideals-and-practical-realities/ LOCATION:Hauser Hall 101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241108T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241108T113000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20240827T203341Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241106T182739Z UID:805-1731061800-1731065400@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Beyond Suspicion: The Moral Clash between Rootedness and Progressive Liberalism DESCRIPTION:Nissim Mizrachi\, Professor\, Department of Sociology and Anthropology\, Tel Aviv University and Head of the Challenge of Shared Life Center\, Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem \nModerated by Walid Hammam\, Director\, Weatherhead Scholars Program at Harvard University \n(co-sponsored with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs) URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/beyond-suspicion-the-moral-clash-between-rootedness-and-progressive-liberalism/ LOCATION:Bowie-Vernon Room\, CGIS Building\, 1737 Cambridge Street\, Cambridge\, MA\, 02138\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241029T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241029T133000 DTSTAMP:20260420T034135 CREATED:20240827T203029Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240827T203029Z UID:804-1730204100-1730208600@pjil.law.harvard.edu SUMMARY:Biblical Judgments: New Legal Readings in the Hebrew Bible DESCRIPTION:Justice Daphne Barak-Erez\, Supreme Court of Israel \nModerated by Noah Feldman\, Director Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law URL:https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/biblical-judgments-new-legal-readings-in-the-hebrew-bible/ LOCATION:Pound Hall 100 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR