Background
Konvitz, Milton Ridbaz was born on March 12, 1908 in Safad, Israel. Son of Rabbi Joseph and Welia (Ridbaz-Willowski) Konvitz. came to the United States, 1915, naturalized, 1926.
( The nine American Jews of whom Milton Konvitz writes a...)
The nine American Jews of whom Milton Konvitz writes are philosophers, jurists, or rabbis, widely known and readily accepted as American Jewish thinkers. Their work reflects all essential Jewish values. Each person in his own way has dedicated his work to the betterment of life and the advancement of human ideals. In this sense, their Jewishness is not defined by religion alone. Americanism permeated all they thought and all they did. Konvitz argues that in the complex modern world, secularists often serve God more handsomely than do members of synagogues or churches. For example, when the Supreme Court in 1954 (with Felix Frankfurter playing a key role behind the scenes) agreed to outlaw segregation of the races in public schools, was the Court's action secular or religious? When Congress passed the statute known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring equal treatment of handicapped persons, was the action secular or religious? Is a minimum wage act secular or religious? Is Medicaid a secular or a religious act? Konvitz believes the distinction is not useful, or even possible. The book is divided into three parts, reflecting Konvitz's range of intellectual interests. The nine essays offer concise intellectual biographies of three American Jewish philosophers, three Supreme Court Justices, and three rabbis. The philosophers-Horace M. Kallen, Morris Raphael Cohen, and Sidney Hook-are world-renowned. The jurists-Louis D. Brandeis, Benjamin N. Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter-hold prominent places in American legal history. And the three rabbis-Leo Jung, Robert Gordis, and Jacob Agus-are known wherever Jewish thought is studied. By treating with equal seriousness the lives and writings of both religious and secularist thinkers, the author intentionally minimizes the conventional antagonism and frequent conflict between religion and secularism. An unusual feature of the book is the fact that the author was a close friend of six of the persons whose lives and work are examined, allowing him a perceptive insight into their character and thought. Although the book is about serious subjects, its graceful style makes the contents easily accessible to lay persons as well as scholars and students of Judaica.
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( Of the American Bill of Rights, perhaps the forty-five...)
Of the American Bill of Rights, perhaps the forty-five words that comprise the First Amendment-allowing freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, and the guaranty of the writ of habeas corpus-are the most precious. Only a legal expert could lay claim to truly understanding the meaning and intention of those basic freedoms. Yet it is precisely the expert, knowing the complexity of the subject, who would be the first to hesitate to claim to possess such a thorough understanding. In analyzing such freedoms basic to American society, Milton Konvitz helps make comprehending our fundamental liberties easier. The book is divided into three parts: I. Freedom of Religion; II. Freedom of Speech, Press, and Assembly; III. Freedom of Speech, Press, and Assembly: The Clear and Present Danger Doctrine. The reader will find included such topics as the debate over the scope of the separation of Church and State, whether or not freedom of religion is an absolute right, religious freedom prior to 1776, the liberty of private schools, heresy, the right for a religious group to seek converts, the freedoms not to speak and listen, obscene literature, picketing in labor disputes, the freedom to think and believe, abridgments of speech and press, and loyalty oaths and guilt by association. Konvitz's work includes an important chapter on the history of the adoption of the Bill of Rights. His careful tracing of the development of constitutional attitudes to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment is a scholarly benchmark, and is still an archetype for students doing research and writing about these issues. It is of critical importance to anyone seeking an authoritative statement on the basic liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Fundamental Liberties of a Free People is a relevant and practical guide to understanding the liberties so fundamental to a free society. In his new introduction and afterword, author Milton Konvitz brings First Amendment developments up to 2002. It will be welcomed by students and scholars of constitutional law, government, politics, religion, and American history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765809540/?tag=2022091-20
(This collection of essays, mainly by contemporary scholar...)
This collection of essays, mainly by contemporary scholars, deals with the place of various human rights in classical Jewish thought. Though there are no words or phrases in Hebrew Scriptures for "human rights", "conscience", or "due process of law", the ideals and values which these concepts represents were inherent in the earliest Jewish texts. The book begins with four essays on the concept of man's being born "free and equal", in the image of God. The underpinning of this concept in Jewish law is explored in the second section. Section three "The Democratic Ideal", traces the foundations of democracy in the Jewish teachings in the Bible and the Talmud. Section Five deals with aspects of personal liberty, including the right of privacy.
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(Milton R. Konvitz analyzes the connections between the To...)
Milton R. Konvitz analyzes the connections between the Torah and the American Constitution. He elaborates on the centrality of law both in America and in Judaism: the first bound to the Constitution and the Framers, the second bound to Revelation, expanding to a legal system fashioned and refashioned by human interpretation.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815627629/?tag=2022091-20
( One of the most important modern developments in Americ...)
One of the most important modern developments in American constitutional law has been the extension of the Bill of Rights to the states. The most important guarantees of the first eight amendments have been incorporated into the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, along with the doctrine that these are rights that are so "fundamental" that any restriction is subject to judicial "strict scrutiny." The process has nationalized fundamental rights, giving them a preferred dignity and majesty. In this volume, the renowned constitutional scholar, Milton Konvitz, traces the development of fundamental rights from the early days of American jurisprudence through twentieth-century cases involving the right to privacy, racial discrimination, voting rights, censorship, and abortion laws. In Konvitz's astute view, the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States, like the Ten Commandments, places no priority among protected or guaranteed rights. He argues that values, ideals, rights, liberties, and privileges need to be placed in a hierarchical order or scale. The Supreme Court, acting on a case-by-case basis, has slowly and cautiously moved to designate some rights as superior to others. This idea that some rights are of a "fundamental" nature, while others are not, can be traced back to the early days of the nation's government. Konvitz shows that there may be said to be not one, but two or even three bills of rights, one for the Federal government and one for the States. Still another, may be an unwritten but evolving Bill of Rights. The Court has recognized rights or liberties that are in no written constitution, as for example, a right to marry, a right to have a family, a right to choose education of one's children in a private, even a religious, school, rather than a public school. In an illuminating fashion, Konvitz, whose writings have been cited in Supreme Court decisions, traces the controversial and very uneven line of development of such "fundamental rights." This volume is likely the first book on the subject and a pioneering work in the history of American constitutional law. Accessibly written for a general and scholarly audience, it will be of particular interest to political scientists, historians, and constitutional scholars.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141280647X/?tag=2022091-20
Konvitz, Milton Ridbaz was born on March 12, 1908 in Safad, Israel. Son of Rabbi Joseph and Welia (Ridbaz-Willowski) Konvitz. came to the United States, 1915, naturalized, 1926.
Bachelor of Science, New York University, 1928. AM, New York University, 1930. Juris Doctor, New York University, 1930.
Doctor of Philosophy (Sage fellow in philosophy 1932-1933), Cornell University, 1933. Doctor of Letters, Rutgers University, 1954. Doctor of Letters, Dropsie University, 1975.
Data Control Language, University Liberia, 1962. Doctor of Humane Letters, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute Religion, 1966. Doctor of Humane Letters, Yeshiva University, 1972.
Doctor of Laws, Syracuse University, 1971. Doctor of Laws, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1972.
Practice law, Jersey City and Newark, 1933-1946. Lecturer on law public administration New York University, 1938-1946. Assistant general counsel National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1943-1946.
Member faculty New School for Social Research, 1944-1946. Professor industrial and labor relations New York State School Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, 1946-1973. Professor Law School Cornell University, 1956-1973, professor emeritus, 1973—2003.
Visiting professor, associate director Truman Center for Peace Research, Hebrew University, 1970. Director Liberian Codification of Laws project, 1952-1980. General counsel Newark Housing Authority, 1938-1943, New Jersey State Housing Authority, 1943-1945.
Public representative National War Labor Board region 2, 1943-1946. Member enforcement commission and hearing commission Wage Stablzn. Board, 1952-1953; chairman national committee study of Jewish Education in the United States, 1958-1959.
Faculty Salzburg (Austria) Seminar American Studies, 1952. Panel Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, New York Mediation Board, American Arbitration Association, New York State Public Employment Relations.
( Of the American Bill of Rights, perhaps the forty-five...)
( The nine American Jews of whom Milton Konvitz writes a...)
(This is critical rather than technical examination of the...)
( One of the most important modern developments in Americ...)
(This collection of essays, mainly by contemporary scholar...)
(Studies the issues of civil rights in immigrations includ...)
(Book by Konvitz, Milton R.)
(Book by Anon)
(Milton R. Konvitz analyzes the connections between the To...)
Chairman Hebrew Culture Foundation, 1956-1995. Member commission for reorganization World Zionist Organization. Fellow American Academy Arts and Sciences.
Member American Association of University Professors (member council 1961-1964), American Civil Liberties Union (member national committee), American Philosophical Association, American Academy Jewish Research, Law and Society Association, Industrial Relations Research Association, Workers Defense League (member advisory board), American Jewish League for Israel (member advisory board), International Association Jewish Law, International Association Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, Order of Coif, Phi Beta Kappa.
Married Mary Traub, June 18, 1942. 1 son, Josef.