Since October 7, unrest on college campuses has caused many Jews, Israelis, and Zionists to feel uncomfortable, unsupported, and at times, unsafe. This feeling has led to a number of lawsuits, as well as investigations by both Congress and several executive departments. But what does the law say about such issues? When are protests protected speech, and when do they become unlawful discrimination? Does it matter if the discrimination is antisemitic or antizionist? And what responsibility do universities have to students for the conduct of their classmates? In this class we will look at the how U.S. law approaches these difficult questions, and will practice "thinking like a lawyer" to understand this hot-button issue in a careful and nuanced way.

Joshua J. Freundel is an attorney who works on religious discrimination and free exercise matters. A graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was a Fellow at the Julis Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law, he has studied Talmud and Halakha at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi, and Drisha. He lives in Cambridge and has spent many co-working hours at Lehrhaus.