WCL Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Israel-U.S. Fellowship Program
First Herman Schwartz Human Rights Award Presented to Dr. Neta Ziv
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC, June 25, 2009 – American University Washington College of Law (WCL) is proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the US-Israel Civil Liberties Law Program, a joint project of WCL and the.New Israel Fund. The program was founded in 1984 by WCL Professor Herman Schwartz whose distinguished academic career has focused on issues of civil rights and civil liberties across the globe. It has become a leading force in Israel’s public interest legal and non-profit communities. A special 25th anniversary celebration of the program took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at which Dr. Neta Ziv, director of the Cegla Clinical Law Program at Tel Aviv University Law School was awarded the first annual Herman Schwartz Human Rights award.
“I am extremely proud of the successful 25 years of the Israel-U.S. program, and I commend Herman Schwartz for his leadership and continuous positive impact on human rights law,” said WCL Dean Claudio Grossman, who is in Israel this week for the celebration with Schwartz and Hadar Harris, executive director of the WCL Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. “This program has produced key leaders who continue to contribute to securing rule of law, justice, and equality for all in Israel.”
On June 25, in addition to the presentation of the Schwartz Human Rights Award, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham addressed the crowd of more than 150. Other highlights from the day included a roundtable discussion on the status of human rights in Israel, a keynote address by former Supreme Court of Israel President Justice Aharon Barak, and presentations by former law fellows and noted figures in the human rights community in Israel.
WCL-New Israel Fund’s Israel-U.S. Civil Liberties Law Program – 25 Years
During its 25 year history, the Israel-U.S. Civil Liberties Law Program and its graduates have transformed the Israeli legal scene by offering two years of academic and professional experience to Israeli lawyers specializing in civil rights advocacy. The fellowship program includes a year of studies at WCL, internships with leading U.S. civil and human rights organizations, and a year working with a public interest organization in Israel. Through the application of the theories and practices they learned in the program, alumni have affected legislation, policy, and practice in diverse areas of Israeli life, and have influenced legal education in Israel.
Alumni of the program have taken on senior positions in leading Israeli human rights organizations (such as Dan Yakir, Chief Legal Counsel for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel), are leading criminal defense attorneys (such as Avigdor Feldman), have started key human rights organizations in the Palestinian community in Israel (such as Hassan Jabareen, founder of Adalah, and Dr. Yousef Jabareen, founder of Dirasat), and are among the leading clinical legal educators in the country (such as Dr. Neta Ziv, Tel Aviv University). Also among the program’s alumni are leading attorneys in the field of elderly rights (Issi Dayan), children’s rights (Tamar Morag) and disability rights (Karine El-Harrar).
In addition to the main celebration, Grossman gave a keynote address on June 23 entitled “The Use of International Human Rights Law in Global Public Interest Lawyering” at Tel Aviv University’s second annual Public Interest Law Conference. Schwartz also gave opening remarks at the conference. Grossman, Schwartz, and Harris also visited with five major law schools and met with the deans at each, including the University of Haifa, Tel Aviv University, Bar Ilan University, The College of Management Academic Law School, and Ono Academic College.
