Congratulations to Prof. William A. Jacobson for being named to The Algemeiner’s Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life 2019. Today, September 27, 2019, The Algemeiner published its sixth annual list, saying:
We also seek to inspire and motivate our young and the next generation, our future emerging leaders, in rising to the occasion and perpetuating the highest standards of our proud tradition and legacy – in serving and championing the cause of Jews and Israel. Because, as we know, when the quality of Jewish life is raised, the quality of all lives is raised. However, the most exciting part of our work in choosing the J100, frankly, was sifting through hundreds of candidates and nominees to discover some surprising finalists. It was a joy to see the breadth of all those who merited a mention, to understand some of the great work being performed around the world on behalf of the Jewish people, and to celebrate their victories by bringing this great work to renewed public attention via this endeavor.
The Algemeiner “was founded in 1972 by famed journalist Gershon Jacobson as Der Algemeiner Journal and was originally published in Yiddish.” It’s now one of a core of “Jewish” publications, but unlike some leftist publications like The Forward, it’s more moderate in its politics.
Others named this year include: Michael Pompeo (U.S. Secretary of State), Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz (Israeli political leaders), Yossi Cohen (head of the Mossad), Mark Dubowitz (Foundation for the Defense of Democracies), Julian Edelman (N.E. Patriots), Richard Grenell (U.S. Ambassador to Germany), Beate Klarsfeld and Klas Klarsfeld (Franco-German journalists who documented Nazi war criminals), Jennifer Lopez (America singer and actress who recently gave a concert to almost 60,000 people in Israel despite heavy BDS pressure), Viorica Dăncilă (Romanian prime minister), Bill Maher (TV host and comedian, who has come out forcefully against BDS), Sarah Idan (Miss Universe 2017), Ted Deutch (U.S. Congressman), and Jake Tapper (chief Washington correspondent for CNN).
Here is the entry for Prof. Jacobson:
An American lawyer and scholar who is an expert in securities arbitration, William Jacobson is a leading critic of the academic boycott of Israel and the anti-Zionist boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign as a whole. Jacobson, who is on the faculty of Cornell University’s law school, is also the founder and publisher of Legal Insurrection, a conservative news blog. He frequently makes media appearances and speaks at events across the nation. Earlier this year at Cornell, the student government rejected a BDS resolution by a vote of 15-14, with one abstention. Jacobson responded, “The point of BDS on campuses is not actually the boycott, divestment or sanction itself. BDS is just a tactic to dominate campus life and energy in the cause of demonizing Israel.”
Prof. Jacobson’s honor is particularly impressive because there were only three other honorees from academia:
This is the second year in a row in which a leader of the Legal Insurrection team has been honored by the well-known Jewish newspaper, with Prof. Miriam Elman being named to the J100 list for 2018.
Congratulations to Prof. Jacobson for this exciting achievement.
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