Edward Rubin

Edward Rubin attempted to prevent a pro-Israel event in his community by alleging an “international Jewish conspiracy” whereby “Israel is trying to destroy [his] country.”  

Rubin is a professor and former dean of Law and Political Science at Vanderbilt University (Vanderbilt).  

In February of 2015, Rubin sent an email to Laurie Cardoza-Moore — president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN) — about an upcoming pro-Israel event her group had organized for the community.  

Rubin opened his email by declaring that “I want to let you know that I have become an opponent of Israel.” 

He then went on to claim: “I have always regarded Israel as important, but I am not a member of an international Jewish conspiracy: I am an American. Israel is trying to destroy my country, I no longer care about its welfare.” 

Finally, Rubin concluded that “I am a law professor, and I will contact the Mayor’s Office on Monday to see if there is any way that your demonstration can be prevented.” 

The altercation sparked widespread controversy and led one alumnus to send a concerned email to Dr. Susan Wente, provost and vice-chancellor of Vanderbilt.  

In response to the controversy, Cardoza-Moore stated: “I find it disturbing that Professor Rubin is using his position with a private university to wield influence with the Nashville mayor. An effort to shut down any rally should be of great concern to the integrity of the university that employs him and should, at the very least, be of great concern for that same university to employ a ‘Constitutional’ professor who is trying to suppress an individual’s Constitutional rights.”