James Loeffler
@jloeffler.bsky.social
đ€ 1053
đ„ 339
đ 24
Historian/Writer, Felix Posen Professor of Modern Jewish History at Johns Hopkins History
How does rabbinic Judaism view international law -- and how should that guide Jewish ethics today? My latest on Amalek, Zionism, and state violence.
reformjudaism.org/learning/tor...
loading . . .
Bâshalach: At War with Law
Why and how our tradition requires us to renew our commitment to global justice.
https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/bshalach-war-law
24 days ago
0
2
0
On the cries of others, and the language of listening:
reformjudaism.org/learning/tor...
loading . . .
The Loudest Cry
This week's portion, Bo, confronts us with the same challenge. As the text describes the last of the 10 plagues, the one that will finally free the enslaved Hebrews, we encounter the most terrible: the death of the Egyptian firstborn.
https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/loudest-cry
28 days ago
0
1
0
"How odd / Of God / To choose / The Jews." Mine on moral universalism and Jewish particularism in biblical and rabbinic thought:
reformjudaism.org/learning/tor...
loading . . .
https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/whose-god
about 1 month ago
0
2
0
In a moment when radical Israeli politicians weaponize Judaism to justify racism, Jews must engage our tradition in its full moral complexity. Thanks to
@rabbirickjacobs.bsky.social
of the URJ, I'll post short pieces on Exodus over four weeks. First up: antisemitism's originsâand how we respond.
about 2 months ago
1
0
0
This Thursday, 12/11, I will discuss American antisemitism w/ Pamela Nadell and Stacy Burdett at DC's Capital Jewish Museum.
2 months ago
1
1
0
Save the date: Feb. '26 Hopkins Jewish Studies
@jhuartssciences.bsky.social
hosts "Imagining Israel Baal Shem Tov," a 1-week masterclass w/ Dr. Jonatan Meir. Travel stipends available.
krieger.jhu.edu/jewishstudies/2025/11/20/announcing-the-2026-crane-masterclass-with-dr-jonatan-meir/
loading . . .
Announcing the 2026 Crane Masterclass with Dr. Jonatan Meir | Jewish Studies
The Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Program in Jewish Studies is happy to announce the upcoming program Imagining Israel Baal Shem Tov: Readings in Hasidic Hagiographic Literature with Crane Visiting Pro...
https://krieger.jhu.edu/jewishstudies/2025/11/20/announcing-the-2026-crane-masterclass-with-dr-jonatan-meir/
3 months ago
0
0
0
Betting on the âJudeo-Christian traditionâ was always a dubious wager. As the hyphen drops on the Far Right, seems like itâs time to re-up this piece of mine.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
loading . . .
The Problem With the âJudeo-Christian Traditionâ
The concept was always an unstable foundation on which to build a common American identity.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/the-judeo-christian-tradition-is-over/614812/
3 months ago
0
1
0
Happy-ish to share my recent interview with the Adventures in Jewish Studies podcast on antisemitism and anti-Zionism, sponsored by
@jewishstudies.bsky.social
www.associationforjewishstudies.org/podcasts/ant...
.
#JewishStudies
#Antisemitism
#AntiZionism
loading . . .
Anti-Zionism with James Loeffler
https://www.associationforjewishstudies.org/podcasts/anti-zionism-with-james-loeffler
3 months ago
0
1
0
Coming in Summer 2026:
3 months ago
0
0
0
Happening today - a global gathering to discuss the legacy of legal titan Alexander Pekelis (1902-1946). Centro Primo Levi hosts me, Natalia Indrimi,
@yosefmalka.bsky.social
Mauro Grondona, Ilaria Pavan and Umberto Gentiloni. RSVP for zoom -- details in link
primolevicenter.org/events/minor...
loading . . .
Minorities and the Law: Alexander Pekelis and Jewish Legal Realist Tradition
Event Date: November 12, 2025 - Yosef Malka (Yale University) and James Loeffler (Johns Hopkins University) discuss their work in progress on the jurist Alexander Pekelis. Discussants: Umberto Gentilo...
https://primolevicenter.org/events/minorities-in-front-of-the-law-alexander-pekelis-and-jewish-legal-realist-tradition/?l=L1&ri=0
3 months ago
0
1
0
Next week at Amherst College:
www.amherst.edu/news/events/...
loading . . .
Words Like Arrows: Free Speech and Victimsâ Rights in American Law - Talk by James Loeffler (Johns Hopkins University) | Events & Calendars | Words Like Arrows: Free Speech and Victimsâ Rights in Amer...
https://www.amherst.edu/news/events/calendar/node/932032
4 months ago
0
0
0
Coming this Tuesday, a symposium on Louis Brandeis, Jewish liberalism, and Zionism.
pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-je...
Livestream on Zoom via
harvard.zoom.us/j/96207758290
Talks by Shaul Magid, Amalia Kessler, William Forbath, Laura Weinrib, Noah Feldman and yours truly
5 months ago
0
7
3
Full program details and zoom link now available for the Louis Brandeis symposium at Harvard Law School in a few weeks.
pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-je...
loading . . .
âThe Jewish Problem, Then and Now: Rethinking Louis Brandeisâs Liberalismâ
A Symposium sponsored by the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at the Harvard Law School *Sep. 16, 2025*  POUND HALL 101 1563 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02âŠ
https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-jewish-problem-and-how-to-solve-it-a-public-symposium-on-the-110th-anniversary-of-louis-brandeis-famous-essay/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMdHuFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHsawoi8Fd6cH0_aPSNsilW0NKKAwSdXGjcEk6ZU3VhC675wXHkN_et21JjW2_aem_wpQtz3Rh81NwySthF987Mg
6 months ago
0
3
1
Charlottesville shattered America's illusions about hate. Repair begins with grasping how it turbocharged antisemitism and turned the very act of opposing hate into political warfare. I'll be previewing my forthcoming book at the Univ. of Florida Jewish Studies Program on 9/4.
bit.ly/UFLoeffler
6 months ago
0
1
0
Coming up next month at Harvard Law School - âThe Jewish Problem, Then and Now: Rethinking Louis Brandeisâs Liberalismâ Details in the link, and zoom option to follow
pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-je...
loading . . .
âThe Jewish Problem, Then and Now: Rethinking Louis Brandeisâs Liberalismâ
A Symposium sponsored by the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at the Harvard Law School *Sep. 16, 2025*  2025 marks the 110th anniversary of Louis BrandeisâsâŠ
https://pjil.law.harvard.edu/event/the-jewish-problem-and-how-to-solve-it-a-public-symposium-on-the-110th-anniversary-of-louis-brandeis-famous-essay/
7 months ago
0
5
2
reposted by
James Loeffler
Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR
7 months ago
#OpenAccess
from
@nationalitiesp.bsky.social
- The Right to Banality: Interwar Jewish Global Thought between Eastern Europe and the Middle East -
cup.org/4fnkMVM
-
@jloeffler.bsky.social
#FirstView
0
2
1
If you are looking to read something on the history of Zionism that moves beyond the settler colonialism debate & shows how the pre-1948 conflict in Palestine is linked to pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe -- & the role of int'l law in this story -- here's a new piece by yours truly.
cup.org/4lQfUL7
loading . . .
The Right to Banality: Interwar Jewish Global Thought between Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Nationalities Papers | Cambridge Core
The Right to Banality: Interwar Jewish Global Thought between Eastern Europe and the Middle East
https://cup.org/4lQfUL7
7 months ago
1
3
1
Volume 4 of the Cambridge History of the Holocaust is out this month, with my essay, "In Search of Global Justice: Holocaust, Genocide, Law." Edited by Laura Jockusch and Devin Pendas. TOC and other information in the next comment.
7 months ago
1
1
0
Donât think that the sky is a curtain, made so God wonât see! That the clouds are so that no one can see your hands; That the wind will muffle the wild cries; That the earth will soak up the blood of the victims... - I.L. Peretz (1905) , trans. J. Loeffler (2010)
jamesloeffler.com/dont-think-a...
loading . . .
Don't Think: A Poem by I.L. Peretz - James Loeffler
Donât Think By Isaac Leybush Peretz (1905) Translated from the Yiddish by James Loeffler ©2010  Donât think that the world is just a tavern, Made so
https://jamesloeffler.com/dont-think-a-yiddish-poem-by-i-l-peretz/?fbclid=IwY2xjawL1qP9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFTaWFpTEEyTDVCWG9TV1pBAR7xX3VUrH8goepgY7H9fLXlmUmi4EyjOoKjF1B1M8kwrwiToEkoj02Uihxg_g_aem__lhU3w4n_w9Kwea4JuyxMA
7 months ago
0
1
0
A new-ish piece of mine on Judaism and human rights, Israel and Palestine, is out. Come for the critique of easy religious slogans, stay for the reflections on what a future Jewish ethics might look like.
creor-ejournal.library.mcgill.ca/article/view...
7 months ago
0
1
0
Last year I wrote a short piece about antisemitism and free speech, a spin-off from the book I am now completing (due out May '26). It just won the Rockower prize for excellence in writing about antisemitism. Happy to share once again here.
www.hartman.org.il/what-we-have...
loading . . .
What We Have Learned About Campus Free Speech Since October 7
"There is no retreat on campus from the hard questions about freedom and equality."
https://www.hartman.org.il/what-we-have-learned-about-campus-free-speech-since-october-7/
7 months ago
0
9
0
you reached the end!!
feeds!
log in