The Law School Student Senate voted to deny official recognition of the proposed Law Students Against Antisemitism group on Jan. 23 in an anonymous vote of approximately 33 senators. Law School students proposed the group to “raise awareness and educate about both historical and contemporary antisemitism,” according to its constitution.

“It is rare that a club doesn’t gain approval, and I am disappointed by the signal that this sends to many in our Jewish community,” Student Senate President Justin Onwenu, Law ’24, wrote in a statement to Spectator. “I am hoping that the club will resubmit and consensus can be reached because combatting hate, including antisemitism, is one of the most pressing issues of our time.”

Nine organizations have requested recognition this year, and Law Students Against Antisemitism is the only group that has not been approved, according to a senator who spoke to Spectator on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of professional repercussions.

“This was probably the longest conversation that has happened in regard to a club approval process,” the senator said.

A group of the same name was rejected by the Law School Student Senate at the preapproval stage in January 2023, when the senate decided that other organizations already served the purpose of the proposed group, according to the founder of the 2023 organization, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to concerns of retribution.

The group faced criticism for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which notes that manifestations of antisemitism “might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity,” according to the alliance’s website.

“However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” the website reads.

There were two main complaints raised before and during the senate meeting about Law Students Against Antisemitism: that the organization would suppress speech and that the alliance’s definition conflated antisemitism with anti-Zionism.

Marie-Alice Legrand, Law ’24, president of Law Students Against Antisemitism, said that she felt obligated to create the group after she saw messages following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that “justify it and frame it as a resistance and liberation movement.” Legrand said the messages were unacceptable and heartbreaking, so she felt compelled to take action because educating about antisemitism is “very important” to her.

“I take history and I take the memory of the Shoah [Holocaust] extremely important,” Legrand said. “I feel that I have a responsibility and I accept that responsibility.” Legrand is German and grew up in a house that belonged to a Jewish family until they were deported to Auschwitz in 1942 and killed by Nazis.

Legrand approached Hannah Wander, Law ’25, with the idea to create the group in October. While Jewish affinity groups like Jewish Law Students Association already exist, the founders of Law Students Against Antisemitism wanted to create a space for Jewish and non-Jewish students to learn about the history of antisemitism.

“We thought that if we had a group that wasn’t just a Jewish group that was completely devoted to this issue, it would create space for those people, and then that would be a really positive force on campus in terms of speaking out and making sure that Jewish students knew they weren’t alone,” Wander said.

Aimee Grainer, Law ’25, said that seeing peers who either held the Israeli people as responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks or were “unwilling to denounce” Hamas’ actions led her to join the board of the group.

“I was almost stunned more by the silences than I was by what people were saying out loud. And, some of what was said out loud directly claimed that Israeli people were responsible for what happened on Oct. 7,” Grainer said. “It felt as though Jewish students were on an island and I felt intuitively that that was unacceptable, and that as a community we need to support and protect one another.”

In a statement to Spectator, a Law School spokesperson wrote that “The Law School reaffirms that it stands against all forms of bigotry, hate, and discrimination, including antisemitism.”

The spokesperson cited an Oct. 31 message from Law School Dean Gillian Lester in which she wrote that “Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism are deeply antithetical to our values and when they occur, we will use all avenues available to ensure appropriate consequences.”

According to its constitution, the group’s objectives include planning educational events, encouraging dialogue about antisemitism within the Law School, providing resources for students to learn about antisemitism, and supporting students who experience it.

The organization chose to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which had been adopted by 43 countries as of May 2023, including the United States, and over 1,000 entities as of December 2022.

“We wanted to pick a definition that we could build the group around, so the group had a purpose that was beyond sort of the individual goals of the members, and it could continue in three years when we’re graduated,” Wander said.

Wander explained that the board adopted the alliance’s definition because it is widely accepted and fits their criteria. The board decided not to take an official position on whether antisemitism and anti-Zionism are equated, and Wander said she felt that this definition did not take a position on that.

“But, we didn’t want to excise it entirely from our definition of antisemitism,” Wander said. “A lot of the antisemitism we saw on campus that was driving us to make this group is bound up with anti-Zionism, and that’s something that we thought was important to cover within our conception of what antisemitism was.”

As the organization began to form, Wander said the board members shared a sign-up form and constitution in a number of group chats.

“We wanted to be transparent about what the org. was for people who were planning on joining, and at this point, we didn’t see any need to do this secretly in any way because we didn’t think it would be that controversial,” Wander said.

When the board members shared the sign-up form, they were immediately faced with questions and pushback from peers that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition was “controversial,” according to Wander.

One student wrote in a GroupMe message that they “believe this definition will shut down valid views on the ongoing crisis in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Grainer responded, writing, “We chose this definition because we felt it represented the types of antisemitism we would like to advocate against. However, we welcome debate and encourage people who disagree to come to meet to advocate other viewpoints and advance the conversation.”

Grainer explained that fostering such debate was one of the goals behind the proposal of Law Students Against Antisemitism.

“We are all actually very adamant supporters of free speech and dialogue,” Grainer said. “And that’s one of the reasons that we wanted to start this group actually, because I felt like there were not a lot of safe spaces for dialogue and conversation about everything that was happening in the world.”

As the senate meeting drew closer and board members became, according to Wander, “worried about the controversy” and the future of Law Students Against Antisemitism, they created another Google Form for Law School students. The intention of this form was for students to demonstrate their support for the approval of the group as an official student organization on campus, and it received 78 signatures. The Law Students Against Antisemitism board sent the letter of support to the senate to emphasize the student backing behind the organization.

Before the senate meeting, individuals referring to themselves as “Concerned Jewish Students at CLS,” who identify as “Jewish pro-Palestine students,” signed a letter to the senators to “urge the Senate to decline to charter” the group, raising their concern that “LSAA has adopted a pernicious and insidious definition of antisemitism.”

The students wrote that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition is one “that conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. In doing so, the IHRA definition effectively labels as antisemitic large groups of pro-Palestine Jewish and non-Jewish students on campus.”

Two of the students involved with the letter did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

“We really emphasized that we are not going to denounce people or abhor people,” Legrand said.

At the meeting, Law Students Against Antisemitism presented, and around 15 non-senator students attended the senate meeting to show their support for the club.

“The senators are supposed to evaluate the organization as to if it would be a beneficial addition to the Law School, and that it would serve the purposes,” the anonymous senator said. “Senators are really not supposed to insert any of their own beliefs or biases into the organization. It is supposed to be looking at, ‘Does this organization serve a purpose to the Columbia Law School that is not already being met by existing organizations?’”

The group’s board members were questioned for approximately an hour about their organization. Grainer said they addressed “a number of legitimate questions” regarding the definition of antisemitism they chose and the purpose of the organization given the other Jewish organizations that already exist at the Law School. Grainer said that other questions included “false accusations, character assassinations, insinuations, or direct statements that we were trying to shut down speech, and … that we were endangering other students.”

At the end of the meeting, the senators held an anonymous vote and decided not to approve the formation of Law Students Against Antisemitism. For an organization to be approved, at least half of the senators must be present, and among those present, at least half must vote in favor of its approval. The vote was not unanimous, but a majority voted to deny the group’s approval, the senator said.

The anonymous senator, who voted to approve the organization, said she was “very dismayed and frustrated” that it was not passed.

“I think that the Student Senate should have stood in support of all organizations that are founded to tackle systems of hate,” she said.

Wander said that the group is considering appealing, as pursuant to the senate bylaws. Law Students Against Antisemitism is not planning to change the definition of antisemitism, she added.

Following the vote, several senators have expressed they are afraid of online backlash and doxxing, especially as the list of senators is publicly accessible.

Legrand said that she feels the denial of Law Students Against Antisemitism represents a larger problem in society and “an attack on democracy.” Given the current rise of antisemitism, Jewish people need the support of others, Legrand said.

“It’s not even code red at this point. It’s far beyond. The line has been crossed. You can’t even see the line anymore,” Legrand said. “I urge everyone to speak up and go and do something.”