|
|
January 28, 2005/Shevat 18 5765, Vol. 57, No. 22
Lecture series highlights impacts of Jewish trials
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
The Arizona Region of the Anti-Defamation League and the Maricopa County Bar Association will sponsor a lecture series, "Four Fascinating Jewish Trials That Changed History," beginning Thursday, Feb. 3.
The series will demonstrate the impacts of four trials involving Jewish defendants regarding the history of the perception of the Jewish people in the modern world.
Bill Straus, ADL regional director, said he hopes "to add a little bit of Jewish context to what" attorneys - Jewish and non-Jewish alike - already know.
"Every one of these trials ... is relevant to things we read and see today," he said.
The series - held the first Thursday of the month through May - will include the trials of Alfred Dreyfus, a captain in the French army accused of providing secret information to Germany in 1894; Leo Frank, a Northerner living in the South in 1915 who was accused of - and killed for - the murder of a young girl; the Rosenbergs, charged with - and executed for - conspiracy to commit espionage; and Goldman v. Weinberge, a 1986 Supreme Court case involving S. Simcha Goldman, an Orthodox Jew and member of the Air Force, who sued for the right to wear his yarmulke on duty.
Amy Hirshberg Lederman, a Tucson resident and lawyer, Jewish educator, author and columnist - and a frequent contributor to Jewish News - will lead the lunchtime lectures.
Lederman led a similar series in Irvine, Calif., as part of a program sponsored by the Orange County Jewish Federation and the Orange County office of the ADL. She developed the series because of her interest in the impact of the trials that pertain to Jewish defendants and the perception they created of Jews and Judaism.
"It's a really unusual and interesting vantage point to both learn about Jewish history and legal history," she said.
Interest for the series has been great - and not just from the legal community.
"There is a lot of interest," said Straus, "(from people) that I would not have considered a primary target for it."
Straus was also pleased with the enthusiasm from his fellow co-sponsor.
"I was thrilled and a little bit surprised at how enthusiastically (the bar association) embraced the idea," he said.
Each lecture will also qualify for Continuing Legal Education Credit by the State Bar of Arizona in the amount of one hour per session.
Lederman hopes that those who attend will come away with a richer knowledge than they had before.
"I always hope to empower people with Jewish knowledge ... so that they feel they understand, they know more about themselves, personally and professionally, as well as Judaism as a whole," she said.
Contact the writer here
Details
- What: "Four Fascinating Jewish Trials That Changed History"
- Who: Sponsored by Arizona region of the Anti-Defamation League and the Maricopa County Bar Association; lectures led by Amy Hirshberg Lederman.
- When: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., first Thursday of the month, February-May; begins Thursday, Feb. 3.
- Where: ASU Downtown, 502 E. Monroe St., Phoenix. Parking will be validated in adjacent garage.
- Cost: $36 per lecture or $130 for the series; includes lunch and CLE credit.
- Call: Mona Fontes, CLE director of the MCBA, 602-257-4200, ext. 137.
|
|
