A BakerHostetler event that had been in the works since summer came to fruition on Nov. 9 in the form of a firmwide program titled “Understanding Antisemitism and Jewish Identity."
With hundreds of attorneys and staff, more than half the firm, attending in person or online, a trio of American Jewish Committee (AJC) leaders offered their perspectives and insights on the topics of antisemitism and Jewish identity. Alan Ronkin, Regional Director of AJC Washington, D.C.; Joshua Kramer, Regional Director of AJC New York; and Susan Stolov, vice president of the AJC Washington regional board, also answered questions from attendees and provided a handout for those interested in educating themselves about the rise of antisemitism around the globe and how to identify and combat it when it occurs.
Partner Ken Reisenfeld, an AJC regional board member (and this year's recipient of AJC’s prestigious Judge Learned Hand Award) worked with Partner Erika Thomas and Director of Inclusion and Diversity Leah Fisher to bring the program together. Originally, it was to be a general education program, part of the firm's ongoing commitment to educational opportunities in inclusion and diversity. However, the events of Oct. 7, along with increases in antisemitic harassment, vandalism and expressions of hostility against Jewish people and Israel worldwide, brought an even greater sense of timeliness to the event.
BakerHostetler’s commitment to justice and unequivocal opposition to racism and all acts of hatred and violence is reflected in everything the firm does, including our recent involvement with a letter to law school deans condemning the rise of hate speech on college campuses across the U.S. We joined more than 100 other law firms in signing that letter, urging educators to support their students in “the free exchange of ideas, even on emotionally charged issues, in a manner that affirms the values we all hold dear and rejects unreservedly that which is antithetical to those values.”
As the letter proclaimed, “There is no room for antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism or any other form of violence, hatred or bigotry on [college] campuses, in our workplaces or our communities."