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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson
@beidelson.bsky.social
7.7K followers 200 following 55 posts
Professor, Harvard Law School https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/benjamin-eidelson
hls.harvard.edu
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Reposted by Ben Eidelson
caseviewerapp.bsky.social
Case Viewer @caseviewerapp.bsky.social · 19h
Check out the latest version of Case Viewer on the App Store — now with detailed AI annotations, on iPhone, iPad, and macOS

apps.apple.com/app/apple-st...
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Reposted by Ben Eidelson
jamalgreene.bsky.social
Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 17d
Kagan’s short dissent is unanswerable.
tomtmwolf.bsky.social
Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social · 17d
Order here: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p....
www.supremecourt.gov
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Reposted by Ben Eidelson
free.law
Free Law Project ⚖ @free.law · Sep 5
Case Viewer is one of those tools you didn't know you needed. Apple-only for now, but it brings a simple, clean interface to reading case law, and it's finally out of beta!

We're proud to have our APIs and data integrated into the tool and we encourage folks to give it a try!
caseviewerapp.bsky.social
Case Viewer @caseviewerapp.bsky.social · Sep 5
Some of Case Viewer's features are powered by the amazing data from @free.law (CourtListener). Two examples:
1. a D.C. Cir. case with embedded oral argument audio & info on all the participating judges.
2. An 8th Cir. slip opinion filed today and not yet available in almost any other database.
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Sep 4
Case Viewer, my quirky side project of building my ideal legal search & reading app, has come a long way. With lots of help, it's grown into the best way to find & read cases on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Check it out or download on the App Store below. And follow @CaseViewerApp for updates!
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Aug 25
Even with its professed limits, Trump’s flag-burning order appears blatantly unconstitutional. “Prosecute disfavored acts of expression insofar as they also constitute criminal acts under some content-neutral law” is not content-neutral. @charliesavage.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Trump Administration Live Updates: President’s Order on Burning Flag Reveals Its Own Limits
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by Ben Eidelson
heidikitrosser.bsky.social
Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · Jul 24
When you’re so busy crowing about your political motivations that you forget to pretend you did it for the Jews.
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jul 24
Linda McMahon on Columbia settlement: "This is a monumental victory for conservatives who wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far left-leaning professors."
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jul 11
I have learned a ton from engaging across differences with Sherif and this essay is a wonderful example. Highly recommended!
sherifgirgis.bsky.social
Sherif Girgis @sherifgirgis.bsky.social · Jul 11
I gave a talk (in 2013) about when/why academics should & shouldn't care about intellectual diversity. More personal than my usual fare (& the most readable thing I've written--not saying that's a high bar)... 1/9
x.com/JoyceCarolOa...
Joyce Carol Oates on X: "most universities & colleges surely have faculty members who are contrarians? liberals & progressives are always quarreling with one another; "the left eats its own"; hiring conservatives per se will result in very lop-sided resumés especially in the sciences. really, research" / X
most universities & colleges surely have faculty members who are contrarians? liberals & progressives are always quarreling with one another; "the left eats its own"; hiring conservatives per se will result in very lop-sided resumés especially in the sciences. really, research
x.com
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jul 3
The op-ed draws on my co-authored article on "Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Title VI" with @hellmandeborah.bsky.social in the Harvard Law Review Forum, available here: harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-13... (3/3)
Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed - Harvard Law Review
The past eighteen months have seen an unprecedented wave of claims by public officials and private plaintiffs that universities are violating their legal obligations...
harvardlawreview.org
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jul 3
Most glaringly, it treats speech acts (like putting an anti-Israel sign on your laptop) as discrimination against a group if they disproportionately _affect_ that group—no intent needed. This is a form of disparate impact, a linchpin of civil rights that Trump has pronounced unconstitutional. (2/3)
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jul 3
As I explain in this @bostonglobe.com op-ed, the new Trump ruling on antisemitism at Harvard is deeply ironic—it quietly embraces ideas about anti-discrimination law that the administration has repudiated for civil rights claims by every other group. (1/3)

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/03/o...
Trump goes ‘woke’ in report on antisemitism at Harvard - The Boston Globe
What is most striking is the brazen hypocrisy — one might even say chutzpah — of the Trump lawyers’ arguments.
www.bostonglobe.com
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
P.S. if somehow I missed what they're actually citing there, I will delete this. But I looked pretty hard before posting this and I really don't see it.
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
Is it possible OCR turned “As a Muslim woman who wears hijab, I have been spat on and harassed in multiple places on campus” into "reports of Jewish and Israeli students being spit on in the face for wearing a yarmulke"??

If so, that pretty well sums up the seriousness of this investigation. (3/3)
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
But the only mention of spitting in that part of the report is a complaint by a "Muslim woman who wears hijab." And there are no complaints of spitting anywhere else in the report either (though there's another mention of "spitting at pro-Palestinian demonstrators"). (2/3)
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
A stunning and telling error in the Title VI "notice of violation" against Harvard:

One of the document's most striking claims is that Harvard ignored "reports of Jewish and Israeli students being spit on in the face for wearing a yarmulke." This is repeated in their letter & in news coverage.(1/3)
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
Reading the Title VI "notice of violation" against Harvard makes stark that, to a large extent, the target is not antisemitism (not even trumped up claims of antisemitism) but protests. Where in these descriptions of alleged misconduct is the discrimination against Jewish (or Israeli) students?
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
www.hhs.gov/sites/defaul...
www.hhs.gov
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
But if the administration thinks "faculty members from the Harvard Law School ... are presumably familiar with legal evidentiary burdens of proof," they might be interested in one such faculty member's explanation of why these Title VI claims are very dubious: harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-13...
Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed - Harvard Law Review
The past eighteen months have seen an unprecedented wave of claims by public officials and private plaintiffs that universities are violating their legal obligations...
harvardlawreview.org
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 30
There is much that's far-fetched and remarkable about Trump admin's new Title VI finding against Harvard. One example is this bizarre bit about why claims in Harvard's antisemitism report can be treated as evidence—despite the task force's explanation that it 'did not require ... evidence'! (1/2)
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 26
This Ogles letter is deranged and incompetent on many levels. The Supreme Court addressed the standard for denaturalization in a unanimous opinion less than a decade ago and every one of the many elements it required is absent. Reporters covering this stunt should tell their readers as much.
paleofuture.bsky.social
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · Jun 26
Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, has sent a letter to Pam Bondi calling for Zohran Mamdani to be stripped of his citizenship and deported.
Andy Ogles: Zohran "little muhammad" Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings. Attached is my letter to @AGPamBondi.
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 24
"Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed" is now out: tinyurl.com/3wpvbnzu

Thanks to HLR editors for fast & diligent editing and to the many who've engaged with us since we posted the draft. And of course to @hellmandeborah.bsky.social for another great collaboration.
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 2
Some takeaways from our new article on Title VI and antisemitism/antizionism (cc @hellmandeborah.bsky.social) in this @chronicle.com Q&A with @shenandoahkate.bsky.social. Full paper: ssrn.com/abstract=527...
shenandoahkate.bsky.social
kate hidalgo bellows @shenandoahkate.bsky.social · Jun 2
"It's important to me to reclaim some of these concepts," said @beidelson.bsky.social. "Title VI is a real law, and it has real demands, and here's what they are, and they're markedly different than anything the administration is claiming." www.chronicle.com/article/why-...
Why Anti-Jewish Discrimination on Campuses Might Not Violate Title VI
Trump’s campaign against higher ed relies on the idea that antisemitism and anti-Zionist discrimination violates federal civil-rights law. That’s not always true, two professors say.
www.chronicle.com
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · Jun 1
Trump's renunciation of disparate impact is ironic: As @hellmandeborah.bsky.social and I explain in new paper, the disparate impact regulation is likely essential to any plausible Title VI theory re: campus antisemitism. Reporters should ask if they're making an exception!

ssrn.com/abstract=527...
Discrimination cases unravel as Trump scraps core civil rights tenet
The administration is dismissing cases and unwinding settlements built on "disparate impact," which holds that even neutral policies can lead to biased outcomes.
www.washingtonpost.com
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Reposted by Ben Eidelson
fishkin.bsky.social
Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · May 28
I appreciate what @beidelson.bsky.social & @hellmandeborah.bsky.social have accomplished here: a concise and thoughtful guide to the reach of Title VI when it comes to antisemitism and speech about Israel.

The Trump Administration's attacks on universities, supposedly regarding antisemitism, are...
beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · May 27
New paper: "Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed" — with @hellmandeborah.bsky.social.

Forthcoming in Harv L Rev Forum (ssrn.com/abstract=5271044)

This is one of the first systematic analyses of the wave of Title VI claims over campus antisemitism. A quick summary 🧵:
ANTISEMITISM, ANTI-ZIONISM, AND TITLE VI: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED Benjamin Eidelson & Deborah Hellman ABSTRACT Universities are facing an unprecedented wave of claims that they have violated their obligations to Jewish students under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. These charges center on an equally unprecedented wave of anti-Israel activity on college campuses, much of which is alleged to cross the line into antisemitism. This essay, forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review Forum, provides one of the first systematic analyses of these exceptionally high-stakes claims about Title VI. Our analysis reveals that the Title VI claims face formidable hurdles, including some that have received surprisingly little attention thus far. Most fundamentally, Title VI’s omission of “religion” as a protected characteristic means that Jewishness is protected under the statute only insofar as it constitutes a “race” or (less likely) a “national origin.” Under existing law, however, discrimination based on the cultural practices or viewpoints that may be associated with such an immutable characteristic—as Zionism might be associated with Jewishnessis ordinarily not cognizable as discrimination based on the protected characteristic itself. Moreover, if “hostile environment” liability can be founded on offensive conduct that does not constitute covered disparate treatment in its own right, this is likely possible only pursuant to a disparate impact theory that the Trump Administration has denounced and that the Supreme Court has rejected for private suits. Any notion of harassment based on conduct’s “objective offensiveness” would also need to account for distinctive features of the university setting that likely preclude liability for much of the protest activity that has loomed large in recent public discussions of Jewish students’ experiences on campus. Although specific facts matter and not all of the issues are clear-cut, we thus conclude that appeals to Title VI in
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beidelson.bsky.social
Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · May 28
These issues are discussed in section 1 of the paper if you’re interested.
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