Lauren Berke
Overview
Lauren Berke [Lauren Cara Berke] is an anti-Israel activist who has demonized Zionists and Israel. Berke has also opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which includes equating Israel with Nazi Germany.Berke served on the executive board of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law (CUNY Law) chapter of the Jewish Law Students Association (CUNY JLSA) during the 2020-2021 academic year. CUNY JLSA is also an anti-Israel organization.
Berke also expressed support for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in February 2020.
As of June 2023, Berke was listed as a law graduate in the “Housing Unit” at the Legal Aid Society in New York, New York. Berke’s LinkedIn profile said she had worked there from September 2022 to June 2023.
As of March 2024, Berke’s LinkedIn said she was a staff attorney in the “Capacity Building Practice” at TakeRoot Justice in New York, New York.
Berke was listed as having passed the New York State bar exam in July 2022.
As of March 2024, Berke’s LinkedIn said she graduated from CUNY Law with a JD in 2022. She also graduated from Kenyon College (Kenyon) with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2014.
As of the same date, Berke’s LinkedIn said she was located in the New York City metropolitan area.
The letter claimed: “A subset of Zionist activists choose to weaponize the genuine threats of anti-Semitism elsewhere in our society as a tactic to repress activism and harass and threaten Palestinian students and Muslim students more broadly.”
The letter was released after a Jewish student at CUNY Law wrote an op-ed about her experiences with anti-Semitism on campus. That student later reportedly dropped out of CUNY Law after harassment she faced from her op-ed and the anti-Israel letter.
On September 24, 2020, Berke signed [p. 3] a statement from the National Lawyers Guild chapter at CUNY Law (CUNY Law NLG) defending Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of pro-terror activist group Within Our Lifetime (WOL), after a video of her went viral.
In a September 2020 TikTok video Kiswani posted, she stood in front of a man wearing an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sweatshirt, while repeatedly lighting a cigarette lighter in her hand. Kiswani stated: “I hate your shirt, I want to set it on fire.” She then moved the flame closer to his shirt. The male smiled and Kiswani said: “No...I’m serious.”
Kiswani posted a caption accompanying the video that read: “I almost set this guy’s shirt on fire. The caption was followed by hashtags, reading: “#F**kIsrael #FreePalestine #freepalestinetillitsbackwards don’t come around me with that.”
In the statement Berke signed, the CUNY Law NLG wrote that the CUNY Law administration “capitulated to the tendency to conflate opposition to the settler-colonial, white supremacist state of Israel and critiques of Zionist ideology with anti-Semitism.”
The letter stated: “We, the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) at CUNY Law, and our allies, write to convey our concern and alarm over the recent introduction on 3/14/21 of the University Student Senate (USS) Resolution ‘Condemning Anti-Semitism and Supporting the CUNY Jewish Community.’ We respectfully oppose this resolution, and urge the USS and our CUNY community to do the same. This resolution adopts a definition of antisemitism put forth by the the [sic] International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).”
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/lcberke/ [Private]
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenberke/
As of June 2023, Berke was listed as a law graduate in the “Housing Unit” at the Legal Aid Society in New York, New York. Berke’s LinkedIn profile said she had worked there from September 2022 to June 2023.
As of March 2024, Berke’s LinkedIn said she was a staff attorney in the “Capacity Building Practice” at TakeRoot Justice in New York, New York.
Berke was listed as having passed the New York State bar exam in July 2022.
As of March 2024, Berke’s LinkedIn said she graduated from CUNY Law with a JD in 2022. She also graduated from Kenyon College (Kenyon) with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2014.
As of the same date, Berke’s LinkedIn said she was located in the New York City metropolitan area.
Demonizing Zionists and Israel
In February 2020, Berke signed a letter titled: “CUNY Law Student groups, Students, Alumni and Faculty stand with SJP and Palestinian students.”The letter claimed: “A subset of Zionist activists choose to weaponize the genuine threats of anti-Semitism elsewhere in our society as a tactic to repress activism and harass and threaten Palestinian students and Muslim students more broadly.”
Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.
The letter was released after a Jewish student at CUNY Law wrote an op-ed about her experiences with anti-Semitism on campus. That student later reportedly dropped out of CUNY Law after harassment she faced from her op-ed and the anti-Israel letter.
On September 24, 2020, Berke signed [p. 3] a statement from the National Lawyers Guild chapter at CUNY Law (CUNY Law NLG) defending Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of pro-terror activist group Within Our Lifetime (WOL), after a video of her went viral.
In a September 2020 TikTok video Kiswani posted, she stood in front of a man wearing an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sweatshirt, while repeatedly lighting a cigarette lighter in her hand. Kiswani stated: “I hate your shirt, I want to set it on fire.” She then moved the flame closer to his shirt. The male smiled and Kiswani said: “No...I’m serious.”
Kiswani posted a caption accompanying the video that read: “I almost set this guy’s shirt on fire. The caption was followed by hashtags, reading: “#F**kIsrael #FreePalestine #freepalestinetillitsbackwards don’t come around me with that.”
In the statement Berke signed, the CUNY Law NLG wrote that the CUNY Law administration “capitulated to the tendency to conflate opposition to the settler-colonial, white supremacist state of Israel and critiques of Zionist ideology with anti-Semitism.”
Opposing the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism
In April 2021, Berke signed an open letter titled: “Open Letter to the CUNY Community Re: USS IHRA resolution.”The letter stated: “We, the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) at CUNY Law, and our allies, write to convey our concern and alarm over the recent introduction on 3/14/21 of the University Student Senate (USS) Resolution ‘Condemning Anti-Semitism and Supporting the CUNY Jewish Community.’ We respectfully oppose this resolution, and urge the USS and our CUNY community to do the same. This resolution adopts a definition of antisemitism put forth by the the [sic] International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).”
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights multiple forms of contemporary anti-Semitism related to Israel, including “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.
The IHRA also highlights another form of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”
On April 11, 2021, The CUNY University Student Senate (USS) posted a Zoom meeting on Facebook where they debated adopting two different definitions of anti-Semitism.
The JLSA definition of anti-Semitism was presented to the CUNY USS as part of a larger resolution submitted by CUNY JLSA and CUNY Law SJP. The resolution claimed [p. 3]: “antisemitism is not an exceptional form of bigotry.”
On April 11, 2021, Berke commented on the USS video: “#IHRAOutofCUNY,” and “#PassJLSA.”
On April 11, 2021, The CUNY University Student Senate (USS) posted a Zoom meeting on Facebook where they debated adopting two different definitions of anti-Semitism.
The JLSA definition of anti-Semitism was presented to the CUNY USS as part of a larger resolution submitted by CUNY JLSA and CUNY Law SJP. The resolution claimed [p. 3]: “antisemitism is not an exceptional form of bigotry.”
On April 11, 2021, Berke commented on the USS video: “#IHRAOutofCUNY,” and “#PassJLSA.”
SJP
SJP is a student organization engaged in anti-Israel activity on North American college and university campuses.
The first chapter of SJP was founded in 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley by Professor Hatem Bazian. Bazian has spread classic anti-Semitism, reportedly promoted religious anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group. In 2004, Bazian called for “intifada” in America.
SJP organizes anti-Israel campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks, often in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Muslim Students Association (MSA) campus chapters.
SJP has been a major force in pushing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Chapters have initiated dozens of BDS resolutions in student governments, which have been proposed on or around Jewish holidays, a time when many Jewish students are off-campus.
SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, disrupted pro-Israel campus events and demonized pro-Israel campus organizations.
Chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for numerous terrorists and whitewashed terrorism.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauren.berke.7Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/lcberke/ [Private]
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenberke/
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- Organizations:
- CUNY JLSA,
- SJP
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
Photos & Screenshots
22 images