NYC legal aid union defeats lawsuit by Jewish lawyers over Israel criticisms | Reuters
A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday dismisseda lawsuit brought by two Jewish lawyers working for New York's Legal Aid Society who said they should not be forced to pay dues to their union after it accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing and genocide" in Gaza. Castel also dismissed the lawyers' claims against New York City, finding that the city played no role in hiring Levine and Popper or in the drafting of a December 2023 resolution by the local chapter of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys that criticized Israeli "apartheid" and called for a ceasefire.Arnold Levine and Allen Popper alleged in their lawsuit that their constitutional rights were violated by being required to pay dues to support advocacy they opposed by state-supported organizations. But U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel said that the union and Legal Aid Society are private entities that are not subject to the attorneys' civil rights claims."We are pleased that in dismissing the complaint, the court agreed with our position that it had no merit," said Twyla Carter, the attorney-in-chief and chief executive officer at the Legal Aid Society.