The Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is an activist legal/bar association working within Minnesota and the surrounding region. Our membership includes attorneys, legal workers, jailhouse lawyers and law students. We partner with four local student chapters of the National Lawyers Guild at Hamline Law School, St. Thomas Law School, the University of Minnesota Law School, and William Mitchell College of Law. Currently our major areas of work include providing legal support for a wide range of local activists, preparing for the 2008 Republican National Convention, immigrant rights organizing and legal support, and working to apply international human rights treaties to local struggles. We are also active in the anti-war movement and the local Coalition for Palestinian Rights. Learn more...NLG-MN News & Events
Eyes in Gaza - First Hand Account of Israeli "Operation Cast Lead"
EYES IN GAZA
A lecture by Dr. Mads Gilbert
One of two foreign doctors allowed into Gaza during Operation Cast Lead
Friday, April 13, 7:00 PM
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2730 E. 31st St., Minneapolis
Saturday, April 14, 10:00 AM
Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 5400 Penn Ave. S., Minneapolis
Eyes in Gaza is a detailed and harrowing account by the Norwegian doctors Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse of their experiences in al-Shifa Hospital during Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza in December 2008-January 2009. For a time, they were not just the only western doctors in Gaza, but among the handful of western witnesses to what they repeatedly call Israel’s massacre of some 1,400 Palestinian men, women and children. Dr. Gilbert’s testimonies were broadcast worldwide on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN and more.
Dr. Gilbert received his PhD at the University of Iowa, is a specialist in anesthesiology, a leader of the Emergency Medicine Department at the University of Tromsø, and a professor of medicine at the University of Oslo, specializing in general surgery. Dr. Gilbert has served as a doctor with The Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC) extensively in Occupied Palestine and Lebanon.
Events Free and Open to the Public---Book Signings to Follow Lectures
Co-sponsored by: The Middle East Committee of WAMM (Women Against Military Madness), Middle East Peace Now, Al Aqsa Institute of Minnesota.
Endorsed by: Twin Cities Peace Campaign, National Lawyers Guild - MN Chapter, MN Peace Action Coalition (MPAC), Justice and Peace for Palestine Awareness, Anti-War Committee, Twin Cities Chapter of The International Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Peacemakers of Macalester-Plymouth United Church, Peace and Justice Committee-Holy Trinity Church, Minnesota Break the Bonds, Twin Cities Amnesty International
Questions? WAMM at 612-827-5364
NLG supports Minnesota lawsuit to divest from Israel Bonds
The National Lawyers Guild sent the following letter to Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, in support of a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign to compel the state to divest from Israel Bonds:
December 13, 2011
To: Attorney General Lori Swanson
cc: Governor Mark Dayton, State Auditor Rebecca Otto, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie
On behalf of the National Lawyers Guild, we write in support of the lawsuit filed on November 29, 2011, against the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) which seeks a judgment directing the SBI to divest from Israel Bonds.
The complaint against the SBI makes pointed reference to Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which both the United States and Israel are parties. Article 49 specifically prohibits an occupying power from transferring (settling) parts of its own civilian population into territory it occupies. Article 49's anti-colonization provisions are jus cogens, which means that they are mandatory norms of international law. Jus cogens violations are not political questions.
As the complaint abundantly shows, there is no credible dispute that Israel has been in continuous violation of Article 49 since shortly after the 1967 war by engaging in ever-accelerating settlement building activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem. In the last ten years, the United States has reduced its loan guarantees to Israel by nearly one billion dollars in response to Israel's illegal settlement activities. The International Court of Justice has issued an advisory opinion confirming the illegality of Israel's settlement activities and the UN Security Council has issued a number of resolutions condemning Israel for these activities.
It is well known that money obtained from the sale of sovereign Israel Bonds is used by Israel to fund its continued violations of Article 49 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On its Israel Bond website, the Government of Israel goes so far as to even promote its settlement infrastructure projects along with its official slogan that Israel Bonds are a "Bond with Israel".
Despite having been repeatedly informed that money generated from the sale of Israel Bonds is used by Israel to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, the stridency by which the SBI clings to its Israel Bond investments demonstrates that they are at least "purposive". This means that the Board is aiding and abetting Israel's violations of international law. Such aiding and abetting is itself a violation of international law.
The SBI's violation of international law also violates Minnesota law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is part of the supreme law of the land and must be regarded as part of the law of each individual state to the same degree as the state's own statutes. Additionally, the Minnesota statutes impose an express fiduciary duty on each Board member to invest "in a manner consistent with law." By aiding and abetting Israel's violations, the Board members are investing state pension funds in a manner not consistent with law and violating their fiduciary obligations to the citizens of Minnesota.
By investing in Israel Bonds to "Bond with Israel", the SBI has made an international law issue a Minnesota law issue. Under Minnesota law, the SBI's investments in Israel Bonds are illegal and Minnesota should immediately divest.
National Lawyers Guild International Committee
For more information and the text of the complaint, please see the Minnesota Break the Bonds website.
NLG-MN Chapter Membership Meeting - January 21 at William Mitchell
This meeting will follow-up on our high-energy Annual Meeting in November. We will collaborate on a work plan for 2012. Proposed projects include:
- Ongoing movement support
- Technology projects like the website, e-mail lists & Facebook page
- Legal observation/support trip to Chicago, May 15-21, for the NATO Summit & G-20 National Special Security Event (aka roving police state)
- Events bringing students, lawyers, legal workers & the broader community together
- Attorney referral list
AND MORE!
We will also vote on proposed Chapter Bylaw Amendments. Please submit your proposed amendments to: querida42Luna@hotmail.com by DECEMBER 20.
Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda to Speak on Human Rights, Democracy and Dictatorship: The Rwanda Experience
Paul Rusesabagina, the real life hero of the acclaimed film Hotel Rwanda will speak at William Mitchell College of Law
Remember Remember the Fifth of November: NLG-MN Annual Meeting at WMCL November 5th, 2011 at 10 am
The annual membership meeting of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 230 of the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN.
All current members, potential members, and friends of the Guild are welcome to attend. Law students interested in establishing active chapters are their law schools are particularly welcome. Further information and an agenda will follow.
Tilt the Scales Towards Justice - Sept. 7, 2011 Fall Social
Join progressive and radical law students, attorneys, and legal workers for the 2011 Fall Social hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the National Immigration Project.
Since 1937, the National Lawyers Guild has sought to unite the lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers of
This event is an opportunity meet and network with lawyers, legal workers, law students and activists who work in many areas, including immigration law, criminal defense, civil rights, and labor and employment law.
Refreshments and food will be available. An informal program will consist of short presentations about the work of the Minnesota Chapter of the NLG and how to get involved.
Wednesday—
Law Offices of De Leon & Nestor, LLC
(612) 659-9019—nestor@denestlaw.com
As Haiti Rebuilds and Aristide Returns - Haiti Event on February 20, 2011
NLG-MN Endorsed Speaker An Evening with Hajo Meyer
The Never Again for Anyone Speaking Tour
An Evening with Hajo Meyer
Tuesday, February 8th, 7PM
John B. Davis Lecture Hall Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center
Macalaster College 1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN 55105
Donations accepted at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Join Us!
This year international Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27th. A time for reflection and commitment, please join Dr. Hajo Meyer in hearing about his experience in Auschwitz and the lessons he has learned: Never Again for Anyone.
Dr. Meyer will be joined by Palestianian activist, Osama Abu Irshaid, founder and editor of the newspaper Al Mezan, and Coya White Hat-Artichoker, a Lakota activist for indigenous rights.
About Dr. Hajo G. Meyer:
Meyer was born in Bielefeld, Germany, in 1924. In 1939, at the age of 14, he fled alone to Holland to escape the Nazi regime. After the Germans occupied that country, he was captured by the Gestapo in 1944, and survived ten months in Auschwitz. After the war, he studied theoretical physics and became a researcher at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. He received his Ph.D. in 1956, and in 1974 became managing director of the lab. Retiring in 1984, he became a maker of violins, selling his instruments to professional musicians. He has devoted himself full-time to his work as an activist and essayist.
Sponsored By: American Muslims for Palestine, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the Middle East Children's Alliance,
Endorsed by: Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Middle East Peace Now, Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign, Women Against Military Madness – Middle East Committee, National Lawyers Guild, Jewish Voice for Peace - TC, Opposed to War and Occupation
For more information about the tour and the speakers, go to www.neveragainforanyone.com or call 888.404.4267
Webinar: International Solidarity and the Material Support Law
National Lawyers Guild International Committee Webinar:
International Solidarity Activism in the Era of HLP v. Holder
featuring Shayana Kadidal, Senior Managing Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST - 3:30 PM EST/12:30 PM PST
Register online: http://nlginternational.org/webinarpage.html
or email charlotte.kates@gmail.com to participate
Activists and attorneys are invited to attend.
Recent events have raised many questions for international solidarity activists whose work challenges U.S. foreign policy. On June 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, upholding the applicability of the criminal “material support” statute to a group which sought to train members of a State Department designated "terrorist organization" to use nonviolent dispute resolution techniques and engage in coordinated political advocacy with them. As noted by David Cole, for the first time in its history, the Supreme Court ruled “that speech advocating only lawful, nonviolent activity can be subject to criminal penalty, even where the speakers’ intent is to discourage resort to violence.”
On September 24, FBI raids in Chicago and Minneapolis targeted international solidarity and anti-war activists as part of an investigation of alleged "material support" relating to delegations to Colombia and Palestine. The subpoenaed activists have refused to testify before a grand jury relating to the investigation, and are organizing against the raids.
The implications of the Holder decision and the FBI raids threaten a chilling impact on international solidarity activists, particularly in countries where political and social movements have been labeled with the "terrorist" tag, such as Palestine, Colombia and the Philippines. Join the National Lawyers Guild International Committee and Shayana Kadidal, Senior Managing Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, for an informative session about the issues raised by the Holder decision and its implications for international solidarity activists, as well as the work to challenge repression.
Register online: http://nlginternational.org/webinarpage.html
or email charlotte.kates@gmail.com to participate
Genocide Ideology Law Used to Suppress Dissent in Rwanda
Although being prosecuted in
Yet to properly understand the context of the Genocide Ideology Law, it is also important to understand the significance of the so-called "campaign against genocide ideology" that has recently been launched in

