Advance Praise for Antisemitism and the Law

"[T]here is not one textbook written on antisemitism for use in United States law schools... Finally, Robert A. Katz, a professor at Indiana University, McKinney School of Law, has tackled the task, and admirably at that... The density of Professor Katz’s encyclopedic work is remarkable... [I]t is a remarkably useful tool for both law students, their professors, and those generally interested in the subject of the law and antisemitism."

Clifford Rieders, Esq.

President, The Rieders Foundation

"A Law Book on Antisemitism – About Time," The Times of Israel

"Central to Professor Katz’s thesis is the legal system's paradoxical role as both a historic enforcer of Jews’ subordination and an instrument for achieving full citizenship. From the Spanish Inquisition to the Dreyfus Affair to the Nazi racial state, the casebook dissects the codification of Jewish oppression. More hopefully, it analyzes landmark victories in Jews' struggle for safety and equality under law, including the Nuremberg trials, civil rights statutes, and hate crimes legislation. Throughout, it chronicles how Jewish defense organizations have leveraged the law to advance Jews’ legal interests."

Jonathan Greenblatt

National Director and CEO

The Anti-Defamation League

"Against a backdrop of increasing hostility towards Jews, this comprehensive and meticulously researched casebook could not come at a more valuable time. By chronicling and analysing landmark Jewish cases, including an incisive and enlightening treatment of Irving v Lipstadt, this book provides indispensable insight into how Jews and their allies can best utilise the law, both as a sword and shield, to combat antisemitism."

Anthony Julius
Professor and Chair of Law and the Arts
Faculty of Laws, University College London
Deputy Chairman, Mishcon de Reya

Antisemitism and the Law

Casebook

Robert Katz

Antisemitism and the Law

(Carolina Academic Press, July 2025)

This groundbreaking casebook 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.

Part One examines Jews within anti-discrimination law in the U.S. and U.K., analyzing their legal construction as non-white, white, or ethnic. It explores how courts have extended race-based protections to Jews and other groups not traditionally viewed as distinct races. Part Two focuses on Jewish identity, addressing legal definitions of "Jew" in Orthodox and Reform Judaism, Israel's Law of Return, the Spanish Inquisition, and Nazi Germany. It also investigates cases where Jewish practices, beliefs, and projects were deemed racist.

Part Three analyzes the regulation of antisemitic speech in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Canada, South Africa, and international human rights law. It evaluates legal efforts to debunk antisemitic conspiracy theories and contain online hate speech. Part Four addresses combating antisemitism through hate crime laws in the U.S. and Germany and federal restrictions on funding for universities that tolerate hostile environments for Jewish students. Part Five highlights the critical role non-Jewish allies have played in opposing antisemitism, featuring J'Accuse, Émile Zola's 1898 exposé of the Dreyfus Affair, and the Catholic Church's evolving stance on antisemitism, culminating in the Second Vatican Council's 1965 exoneration of Jews from collective blame for Jesus' death.

This casebook offers an essential framework for understanding antisemitism as a legal phenomenon and addressing antisemitism through legal means.

The casebook will support a 2-3-credit elective course on the subject for law students. It is also suitable for undergraduate and graduate level courses.

The casebook project receives support from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), with additional support from the Leon Levy Foundation, the Academic Engagement Network (AEN), and the Rieders Foundation.

Prof. Katz Hosts Workshop on Teaching Law and Antisemitism

Prof. Katz hosted a workshop on teaching antisemitism and the law at the 3rd Annual vs. Antisemitism Conference at Florida Int'l Univ. College of Law on February 25, 2024. Presenters included (R to L) Steven M. Freeman, ADL Senior Counsel, Legal Historian Victoria Woeste, and Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Freeman and Woeste are contributing scholarship to the casebook. Marcus teaches a course on antisemitism and the law at George Washington University Law School.

Watch the workshop

Advance Praise for Antisemitism and the Law

Antisemitism and the Law

Casebook

Prof. Katz Hosts Workshop on Teaching Law and Antisemitism

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