{"id":48028,"date":"2025-12-05T01:51:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=48028"},"modified":"2025-12-03T15:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T23:01:20","slug":"help-with-the-legal-aspects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/help-with-the-legal-aspects\/","title":{"rendered":"Help with the legal aspects"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Erin Brandt founded the Antisemitism Legal Helpline in January 2024, the employment and human rights lawyer had no idea how much time this volunteer position would consume.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we\u2019re getting this many calls is a little terrifying,\u201d she said. Last year, 32% of the more than 50 calls for assistance were about employment and labour issues, 29% about human rights, and the remainder were about defamation, strata or tenancy disputes, criminal matters and on-campus incidents. This year, as of early November, there had been 44 calls, with the top two concerns remaining the same, but with the order reversed: human rights (30% of calls), followed by employment and labour issues (25%).<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know about us and, therefore, aren\u2019t calling \u2013 so this represents just a small sampling of what\u2019s going on in BC,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Antisemitism Legal Helpline\u2019s operational costs are mainly funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia, and all legal advice is provided on a volunteer basis by 30 lawyers, \u201cmostly Jewish, but also non-Jewish who have identified as allies of the Jewish community,\u201d said Brandt.<\/p>\n

The helpline\u2019s steering committee includes Brandt, Jessica Forman and Cindy Switzer; Rochelle Garfinkel is the coordinator.<\/p>\n

Jews who have experienced antisemitism and want to inquire about the potential for legal action can call the helpline and be referred to a lawyer with an appropriate specialty. They receive a 30-minute, free legal consultation about whether there has been a legal breach and, if so, what the options are.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Lawyer Erin Brandt, founder and steering committee member of British Columbia\u2019s Antisemitism Legal Helpline. (from antisemitismlegalhelp.org)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPeople come to us looking for advice on whether their case has merit, and part of our job is to explain the legal system and what it looks like to pursue a complaint to conclusion,\u201d Brandt said. \u201cIt could include sending a cease and demand letter, among other options. If an individual wants to pursue a complaint further, sometimes a lawyer may be prepared to take it on pro bono, or the case might be strong enough that it warrants seeking outside funding, from resources in the Jewish community. There are legal funds available.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawyers in the roster are confident and experienced, Brandt added. \u201cOne of the things people look for is cultural competency. When they feel vulnerable or attacked, they want to speak to someone who empathizes with what they\u2019ve been through. Our roster of lawyers is small, but strong, and if a situation comes up where the current roster can\u2019t help, the steering committee steps in to work our networks and bring in the right lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US equivalent of the Antisemitism Legal Helpline is the Anti-Defamation League\u2019s Legal Action Network, which launched in early November with a team of 40 law firms constituting some 40,000 lawyers. \u201cThis is the largest and most powerful network of attorneys in this country, united and walking in lock step in the fight against antisemitism,\u201d said James Pasch, vice-president of litigation at the ADL. Those attorneys are not all Jewish, he added, and being Jewish was not a prerequisite for volunteering legal assistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking for like-minded, talented attorneys who\u2019d be interested in pro bono cases to fight back against antisemitism, and we\u2019ve been heartened by the response of the American legal community. There\u2019s an understanding that the spread of antisemitism in our communities cannot be tolerated and, when it crosses the line to horrific conduct, it\u2019s incumbent on us to push back and fight for the rights of the Jewish community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Victims of acts of antisemitism receive a call from a law firm that does a thorough intake process. After that, if there are issues that are legally actionable, they work to provide ongoing legal assistance on an individualized case basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to use every tool in the toolkit in the fight against antisemitism, and using the courts will be a vital tool in that fight,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re extraordinarily heartened and grateful that such a large swath of the legal community has decided to stand ready to provide pro bono legal assistance to the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Oct. 7, 2023, an antisemitism hotline for college students and professors was launched by the law firm Gibson Dunn, in collaboration with the ADL, Hillel International and the Brandeis Centre. While it led to 25 legal actions that resulted in settlements, criminal prosecutions and policy changes at universities, calls were coming from people outside of college campuses, too. They encompassed employment issues, denial of service and harassment of students in schools among other issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise of antisemitism was never going to just stay siloed on campus,\u201d Pasch noted. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen antisemitism metastasize and spread across the United States. It was vital that we set up a system that gives the Jewish community an ability to fight back against it, tell their story and pursue legal remedies that will better protect us now and for years to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To reach the BC Antisemitism Legal Helpline, call 778-800-8917 or email alh@accessprobono.ca<\/a>; the website is antisemitismlegalhelp.org.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/b>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Erin Brandt founded the Antisemitism Legal Helpline in January 2024, the employment and human rights lawyer had no idea how much time this volunteer position would consume.\u00a0 \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re getting this many calls is a little terrifying,\u201d she said. Last year, 32% of the more than 50 calls for assistance were about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[801,23291,7681,19720],"class_list":["post-48028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-antisemitism","tag-antisemitism-legal-helpline","tag-erin-brandt","tag-legal-aid"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}