The Virginia State Bar has generated international news with its decision not to hold a junket legal seminar in Jerusalem.
None of them flatter the organization — which, it is important to recall, is “an agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia.”
At first, the VSB said its decision was based upon concerns, and an online petition, regarding Israel’s “unacceptable discriminatory policies and practices pertaining to border security that affect travelers to the nation.” The petition — signed by 39 people at last count — said in part:
It is unacceptable that the Virginia State Bar has decided to hold a conference in a location that actively discriminates on the basis of racial, religious, and national origin grounds, and effectively prevents Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian members of the VSB from attending.
For at least these reasons, we demand that the location of this year’s Midyear Legal Seminar be changed to a location accessible to all members, irrespective of race, religion, and national origin. Furthermore, we demand that the VSB refrain from organizing any more events for which participation is exclusive on racial, religious, or national origin grounds.
Lawyers making demands…how novel.
But it was enough to stampede the VSB into cancelling the trip. But the resulting bad press forced the VBA to grab its shovel and keep digging. No, this isn’t a “boycott” of Israel. And in no way is it anti-Semitic:
We are an inclusive organization and do not discriminate against any religion.
Unfortunately, some mischaracterized this decision as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, even going so far as to mislabel it as a “boycott.” Although the message was sent over the president’s signature, we jointly drafted and approved what was sent Friday night. Apparently we could have done a better job of explaining the situation and decision. We are writing now to provide further clarity.
Our decision was not based on any political factors or influences. We understand that Israel is in a difficult position when it comes to security. We are not expressing opinions regarding Israel’s border security measures. We are merely recognizing the reality that our very large and diverse membership, consisting of well over 40,000 members, includes individuals who may encounter lengthy examination and possible rejection in attempting to navigate the immigration security procedures in Israel.
You may recall that on March 25, 2015, we sent a message urging VSB members to sign up for both the Israel trip and the Annual Meeting in Virginia Beach. We very much wanted the Israel trip to be a success and were trying to reach the required number of participants for it to be a go. We deeply regret that a combination of circumstances led to the trip’s cancellation, and we also regret that our good faith efforts and decisions may have been misinterpreted and misunderstood.
We remain committed to the core objectives of the VSB: public protection, access to justice and improvement of the legal profession. Thank you for reading and thank you for allowing us the privilege of serving
Weasel words, and particularly rich from a group in which membership is mandatory.
Few people signed up for the trip. Okay, that’s a fair reason to cancel — and should have been the only reason to cancel. But instead of the simple response, the VSB insisted, both in its first letter and in its follow-up, that Israel’s security measures were just too onerous, and let’s be honest — racist — for its members to stomach.
The VSB has no one to blame for the controversy but itself. As an agency of Virginia’s court system, its leadership has managed to damage not only itself, but blundered into a foreign policy controversy totally unrelated to its mandate.
And it did so needlessly.
I suggest that in future, the VSB stick to its core objectives…and maybe schedule its next junket for some location closer to home. Say, Petersburg. Or perhaps Emporia.
Who knows…the attendees might actually learn something useful about their profession and the state. And the speed traps along I-95.
