In an era marked by a dramatic rise in antisemitism on university campuses, in international institutions, and across social and legal forums, The Lawfare Project stands as one of the most consequential legal advocacy organizations defending Jewish civil rights in the Western world. Founded and led by attorney Brooke Goldstein, the New York-based nonprofit operates at the intersection of law, civil rights, and the fight against the delegitimization of Israel. Its work reflects a growing recognition that legal mechanisms themselves have become a battleground — one in which pro-Israel voices, Jewish students, and Israel's very legitimacy as a state are under sustained attack. The organization's name is deliberately chosen, echoing the term "lawfare," which describes the strategic misuse of legal processes to harass, delegitimize, and exhaust adversaries rather than achieve genuine justice.
Origins and Founding Mission
The Lawfare Project was established by Brooke Goldstein, a Canadian-born human rights attorney, filmmaker, and prominent advocate for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Goldstein recognized that legal systems, international bodies, and academic institutions were increasingly being weaponized against Israel and Jewish communities — a trend she identified as a form of asymmetric warfare conducted through courts and regulatory bodies rather than on traditional battlefields. The organization was conceived to counter this strategy by deploying equally rigorous legal tools in defense of Jewish civil rights and Israel's legitimacy under international law. The Lawfare Project operates as a nonprofit, combining litigation, legal education, and policy advocacy to fulfill its mandate.
Central to the organization's founding philosophy is the conviction that antisemitism and anti-Israel delegitimization are not merely social or political problems but actionable legal violations. Whether manifesting as discrimination against Jewish students on university campuses, the promotion of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, or the exploitation of international legal forums to target Israel, The Lawfare Project argues that existing civil rights law, when properly applied, provides meaningful remedies. The organization's legal staff, which includes Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation Gerard Filitti and Director of Litigation Ziporah Reich, pursues this mission through direct representation of aggrieved individuals and institutions.
Key Facts About The Lawfare Project
- The Lawfare Project was founded by Brooke Goldstein, a human rights attorney and filmmaker recognized internationally for her advocacy on behalf of Jewish civil rights and the State of Israel.
- The organization secured a landmark settlement against Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in January 2026, representing ten Jewish students; the settlement required the college to formally recognize that harassment based on Zionist beliefs or Jewish identity constitutes a violation of its discrimination policies.
- The Lawfare Project actively opposes strategic litigation brought by groups such as CAIR that seeks to normalize antisemitic campus environments, with Gerard Filitti stating that such suits are "about waging lawfare to normalize Jew-hatred."
- The organization has been involved in high-profile cases at Columbia University and Northwestern University, among other institutions, representing Jewish students facing discrimination and hostile campus environments.
- In addition to litigation, The Lawfare Project conducts educational initiatives and public advocacy to raise awareness about the legal dimensions of antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel.
Legal Strategy and Notable Cases
The Lawfare Project's legal strategy is multifaceted, combining direct litigation on behalf of Jewish plaintiffs with broader policy advocacy intended to shape institutional responses to antisemitism. One of its most celebrated recent victories came in January 2026, when the organization secured a settlement with Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art on behalf of ten Jewish students. The settlement was notable for its requirement that the institution formally acknowledge that harassment predicated on Zionist beliefs or Jewish identity falls within the scope of its non-discrimination policies — a precedent with significant implications for university campuses across the United States. The case drew national attention as part of a broader wave of campus antisemitism litigation that followed the events of October 7, 2023.
At Northwestern University, The Lawfare Project actively opposed a lawsuit brought by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) against the university's mandatory antisemitism training program. The organization's Director of Litigation Gerard Filitti framed the CAIR suit as itself an example of lawfare — the strategic use of legal processes not to vindicate genuine rights but to dismantle safeguards against antisemitism. This intervention highlighted the organization's broader mission: not merely to win individual cases, but to expose and counter the misuse of legal mechanisms designed to protect minority rights. The Lawfare Project also represented students at Columbia University in settlement negotiations in July 2025, reflecting its national reach across elite educational institutions.
Beyond campus litigation, the organization has weighed in on cases touching on terrorism and hate crimes with an antisemitic dimension. In November 2025, Gerard Filitti commented on the guilty plea of cult leader Michail Chkhikvishvili, whose group had targeted Jewish children, stating that the antisemitic intent meant it "wasn't just another hate crime — this was a terrorist plot targeting Jewish children." This commentary reflects The Lawfare Project's view that antisemitic violence must be prosecuted with full recognition of its ideological and terrorist character, rather than treated as isolated criminal conduct.
Analysis: Significance in the Fight Against Delegitimization
The Lawfare Project occupies a unique niche within the broader ecosystem of pro-Israel advocacy organizations. While many organizations focus on public diplomacy, media engagement, or political lobbying, The Lawfare Project brings the weight of legal process to bear on antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel — a strategy that carries distinct advantages. Court victories produce binding, enforceable outcomes with precedential value; settlements compel institutions to revise their policies; and the credible threat of litigation deters future violations in a way that petitions or press releases cannot. This makes the organization's work especially significant in the context of the post-October 7 surge in campus antisemitism and anti-Israel activism that swept Western universities. As documented by The Lawfare Project's own case archive, the scale and variety of antisemitic conduct confronted through legal channels reveals the scope of the problem.
Critics of aggressive legal strategies in civil rights contexts sometimes argue that litigation can be polarizing or counterproductive; however, defenders of The Lawfare Project's approach point out that Jewish students and communities have long been underserved by institutions ostensibly committed to diversity and inclusion. When universities fail to protect Jewish students from harassment while vigorously enforcing non-discrimination policies in other contexts, legal accountability becomes not merely appropriate but necessary. The organization's willingness to name antisemitism as a civil rights violation — and to litigate accordingly — contributes to a broader cultural and legal reckoning with Jew-hatred as a serious and prosecutable form of discrimination. Scholarly commentary on the use of civil rights law to combat campus antisemitism, including analysis by the Anti-Defamation League, underscores the importance of this legal avenue.
Conclusion: Why The Lawfare Project Matters for Israel and the Jewish People
The significance of The Lawfare Project extends well beyond any individual lawsuit or settlement. By systematically contesting antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel through legal channels, the organization affirms a foundational principle: that Jewish civil rights are legally enforceable, and that institutions, universities, and governments that permit or enable antisemitic conduct are accountable under existing law. This principle is of vital importance to the State of Israel, whose legitimacy is under constant assault in international forums, academic institutions, and media ecosystems across the Western world. Legal victories that affirm the rights of Jewish students and communities send a broader message — that efforts to delegitimize Israel and isolate its supporters will encounter sustained, sophisticated, and effective legal resistance.
In the long term, the precedents established by The Lawfare Project's cases have the potential to reshape how universities, municipalities, and international bodies address antisemitism and anti-Israel discrimination. As the organization continues to grow its legal docket and expand its educational programming, it represents one of the most consequential tools available to the pro-Israel community in the battle for legal and institutional accountability. For those committed to the security, legitimacy, and flourishing of the Jewish state and the Jewish people worldwide, The Lawfare Project's work is not merely relevant — it is indispensable.