Distinguished Albany Law Professor Stephen Gottlieb Offers “Synagogue Scholars” Talk on Jews and the Supreme Court

B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation continues its popular “Synagogue Scholars” lecture series with an update from Albany Law School Professor Stephen Gottlieb on U.S. Supreme Court cases impacting American Jews.

Gottlieb will present his talk, “The U.S. Supreme Court and the Jews: An Update on Recent Issues,” during the congregation’s Friday, March 20, Shabbat service. The service and program, open to all who wish to worship and learn, begin at 8 p.m. B’nai Sholom is located at 420 Whitehall Road, Albany, N.Y.

                In recent years, the Supreme Court has been called upon to decide cases that implicate the First Amendment’s prohibition against government establishment of religion and its guarantee of freedom of religion. A constitutional scholar, Gottlieb will discuss one or more cases from the current or recent terms and help decipher what they mean for American Jews.

Gottlieb is the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor at Albany Law School and has held endowed chairs for distinguished visitors at several other schools. His newest book, Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and the Breakdown of American Politics, will be published this year by NYU Press. Gottlieb served on the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union and, until the Bush administration disbanded it, as a member of the New York Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Begun in 2004, the “Synagogue Scholars” lecture series spotlights B’nai Sholom congregants who are recognized scholars in their fields. The 2015 series will conclude April 17 with Sharona Wachs, Judaic studies librarian and monographic cataloger at UAlbany, on “Dance and Movement in the Bible and in Prayer.”

For more information, visit www.bnaisholomalbany.org or contact the B’nai Sholom office at office@bnaisholom.albany.ny.us or phone 518-482-5283.

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