Legal Aid lawyers union settles after 3 members allegedly ridiculed, targeted for pro-Israel stance

The union repping taxpayer-funded Legal Aid lawyers agreed to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought by members who were allegedly ridiculed and targeted for opposing a union-approved anti-Israel resolution as antisemitic.

The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325, agreed to pay the three pro-Israel members a total of $315,000 and admitted that some of the comments leveled at the trio were “inappropriate.”

“We’re happy for our clients, and for the precedent this settlement establishes for Jewish and allied union members across the country laboring against an obsessive focus on demonizing Israel and Jews, instead of a focus on fighting for better wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Rory Lancman, director of corporate initiatives & senior Counsel at the Brandeis Center, who led the prosecution for the plaintiffs.

The settlement also calls for mandatory training of union members.

The case was brought by the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a Jewish legal civil rights group.

The ALAA had even initiated proceedings to expel the three Nassau County members — Ilana Kopmar, Diane Clarke and Isaac Altman — after they filed a lawsuit last year to block the union from passing a one-sided resolution that condemned Israel for the war, but didn’t blame Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks sparked the conflict.

Two of three plaintiffs are Jewish.

The approved resolution also opposes all existing and future US military aid to Israel and endorses the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state, which critics say is a form of antisemitism.

In their federal court complaint, the plaintiffs described being targeted as “snitches,” “losers,” “disgusting,” “dictators in training” and “Zionist ghouls” in the ALAA’s internal discussion boards.

Plaintiff Ilana Kopmar said she and the others fought the union for passing “an antisemitic resolution.”

“They retaliated, tried to silence and bully us. I’m proud that me and my co-plaintiffs fought, and I’m hoping that with this resolution the union will think twice about retaliating against their members,” Kopmar said.

Plaintiff Isaac Altman said he’ll be donating a portion of his settlement payout to the Israeli emergency medical services group Magen David Adom.

“I’m happy to be done with this chapter and of the work we did to stand up for ourselves and our people,” he said.

By passing the divisive Israel-bashing resolution, the ALAA defied the policy of its employer — the Legal Aid Society, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars in city and state funding. The society has a policy of steering clear of taking stands on international political conflicts.

The Legal Aid Society blasted the controversial resolution as “laden with coded antisemitic language and thinly veiled calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.”

Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center, likened union anti-Israel hostility and even antisemitism to Jew-bashing on college campuses.

“We are seeing an increasing trend in labor union anti-Semitism, much as we have seen a similar increase on college campuses. In both cases, there is bitter irony,” said Marcus, a former US Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office for Civil Rights.

“Colleges are supposed to be islands of reason and tolerance. Labor unions are supposed to be advocates for social justice and workplace equality,” Marcus added.

“To find the oldest hatred in such places is deeply antithetical to their mission. This settlement is a landmark in the fight against anti-Semitism in this sector.”

The ALAA union had no immediate comment.

But in the court-approved settlement, the union stated, “We acknowledge that some of the communications from diverse perspectives were hurtful to union members and inappropriate.”