Background
Neier was born in Berlin, Nazi Germany, son of Wolf (a teacher) and Gitla (Bendzinska) Neier, and became a refugee as a child when his family fled in 1939 when he was two years old.
(Are Nazis entitled to freedom of expression? In 1977, Fra...)
Are Nazis entitled to freedom of expression? In 1977, Frank Collin, leader of the National Socialist Party of America, sought to hold a Nazi march in Skokie, Illinois. Skokie had one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations outside New York City. In this Chicago suburb, over half the population was Jewish. The proposed march sparked a host of legal actions: the Village of Skokie asked for an injunction to prevent the Nazis from marching, and new ordinances were adopted to do so; Collin applied to hold a march on a later date, but was denied; an ACLU lawsuit was brought in federal court, seeking to invalidate the new ordinances Skokie had put in place to prevent the march. In the end, Collin and the Nazis did not march in Skokie, but the Illinois Supreme Court ruled for free speech in 1978. The ACLU felt severe consequences, organizational and financial, of what was seen by many members as an insidious, pro-Fascist position. Writing from his perspective as national executive director of the ACLU, Aryeh Neier tells the story, and ponders the consequences, of Skokie and other cases in which the enemies of freedom have claimed for themselves the rights that they would deny to others.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1617700452/?tag=2022091-20
(Is litigation an appropriate, effective way to promote so...)
Is litigation an appropriate, effective way to promote social change? What criteria should we use to distinguish among causes, and is there a sound basis in law for making distinctions? In Only Judgment, Aryeh Neier examines how the role of litigation and the public interest bar has changed since Brown v. Board of Education, the impact of litigation in advancing causes, as well as its impact on the movements espousing those causes. Suggesting that in the US, public interest litigation can be a double-edged sword, Only Judgment explores both the possibilities and the limits of litigation as a way to advance interests. Neier s writing gets at the heart of how groups and movements gain, or fail to gain, access to political power.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1617700444/?tag=2022091-20
human rights organization administrator author
Neier was born in Berlin, Nazi Germany, son of Wolf (a teacher) and Gitla (Bendzinska) Neier, and became a refugee as a child when his family fled in 1939 when he was two years old.
Bachelor of Science, Cornell University, 1958. Honorary Doctor of Laws, Hofstra University, 1975. Honorary Doctor of Laws, Hamilton College, 1979.
Honorary Doctor of Laws, State University of New York, Binghamton, 1988.
He served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University. Neier was hired by the American Civil Liberties Union in 1963 and became the organization"s executive director in 1970. During his time as executive director, he helped grow the organization"s membership from 140,000 to 200,000.
Neier was criticized for his decision to have the American Civil Liberties Union support the National Socialist Party of America, a Neo-Nazi group, in its efforts to march in Skokie, Illinois in the case National Socialist Party of America v.
Village of Skokie, despite the presence in Skokie of large numbers of Jews and Holocaust survivors. The American Civil Liberties Union"s representation of the group resulted in 30,000 members who ended their American Civil Liberties Union membership.
He also led the American Civil Liberties Union"s efforts to protect the civil rights of prisoners and those in mental hospitals, fought for the abolition of the death penalty and to make abortions available to those who need them. At a party in Washington, District of Columbia in early 1976, an attendee from New York indicated that he would not vote for Jimmy Carter for president because of his Southern accent, to which Charles Morgan, Junior., the American Civil Liberties Union"s legislative director replied "That"s bigotry, and that makes you a bigot." Neier reprimanded Morgan, criticizing Morgan for taking a public position on a candidate for public office.
Morgan resigned from his post in April 1976, citing efforts by the bureaucracy at the American Civil Liberties Union to restrict his public statements.
As a human rights activist, Neier has led investigations of human rights abuses around the world, including his role in the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He has contributed articles and opinion pieces to newspapers, magazines and journals including The New York Review of, The New York Times Book Review and Foreign Policy. He now teaches a course called "Promoting Human Rights: History, Law, Methods and Current Controversies" at the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, in Paris.
(Is litigation an appropriate, effective way to promote so...)
( Since joining the staff of the American Civil Liberties...)
(Aryeh Neier, human rights activist and former executive d...)
( During the past several decades, the international huma...)
(Are Nazis entitled to freedom of expression? In 1977, Fra...)
(Book by Neier, Aryeh)
In his 1979 book, Defending My Enemy: American Nazis in Skokie, Illinois, and the Risks of Freedom, Neier defended his actions in support of the Skokie march, arguing that Jews are best protected by ensuring that the rule of law allowing minorities to speak out is afforded to all groups.
Commissioner juvenile justice standards project American Bar Association– Institute for Judicial Administration. Fellow American Academy Arts & Sciences.
Married Yvette Celton, June 22, 1958. 1 son, David.