Publication Date

2026

Journal

American Journal of Law and Equality

Abstract

This Article uses recent anti-Zionism cases as a case study in hostile environment causation. It briefly surveys the approaches to the causation element that courts have taken in other contexts and then examines the anti-Zionism decisions in detail. It finds that courts in these cases have consistently converged on the narrowest variant of the motive-based approach, treating proof of animus—subjective hostility toward Jews—as the operative route to causation. That approach has its attractions. It preserves breathing space for political speech and resists the claim that opposition to Zionism is necessarily hostility toward Jews. But it is not the only approach the case law makes available, and its implications extend well beyond anti-Zionism. The Article concludes by identifying several broader doctrinal questions the anti-Zionism cases help bring into view.

Volume

6

First Page

137

Last Page

166

Publisher

MIT Press

Disciplines

Civil Rights and Discrimination | Constitutional Law | Education Law | Law | Law and Society | Religion Law

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