MELROSE PARK, Pa.—Dr. Amos N. Guiora, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and a law professor at the University of Utah, will headline the annual Stern Family Institute lecture on February 19 at Gratz College.

Guiora, who holds a B.A. from Kenyon College, a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University of Law and a Ph.D. from Leiden University, served for 20 years as a senior officer in the IDF’s Judge Advocate General Corps. Drawing on his military and academic backgrounds, Guiora will address the challenges of developing and implementing counterterrorism policies while balancing individual rights with national security rights.
 
“Counterterrorism is only going to be effective if it’s subject to the rule of law,” Guiora said. “If it’s not, then you lose your moral standing and any measures you take—even under the auspices of the state—will be in violation of the rules of war, inherently illegal and ultimately ineffective.”
 
Guiora has published extensively on the issues of national security, the limits of interrogation, religion and terrorism, the limits of power, multiculturalism, and human rights. His most recent work includes The Crime of Complicity: The Bystander in the Holocaust (2017) and Earl Warren, Ernesto Miranda and Terrorism (2018).
 
The topics of counterterrorism and the limits of power are important today, Guiora said. United States history is rife with examples of illegal military actions—such as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1942 order to relocate 120,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps or George W. Bush’s approval of enhanced interrogation techniques in the aftermath of 9/11.
 
“Those are classic examples of overreaction,” Guiora said. “It’s really important for the wider audience to understand the limits of power and the dangers of not respecting that power, and that’s relevant whether one is speaking about Israel or the United States. Self-imposed restraints are necessary in order to ensure that the rule of law is respected regardless of the threat posed.”
 
Dr. Paul Finkelman, president of Gratz College, said the topic of Guiora’s lecture is especially relevant for Gratz, which in 2017 launched the country’s only online Ph.D. program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Guiora’s 2017 book, The Bystander in the Holocaust, explores the crime of complicity during the darkest era of Jewish history.
 
“Guiora is the son of two Holocaust survivors,” Finkelman said. “He was born in Israel and educated in the United States. He has become an internationally renowned expert on the laws of war and interrogation. Because of his expertise on issues of war and peace in the Middle East, he is the ideal person to give the Stern Family Institute lecture.”
 
Endowed by the family of Harry Stern, the Stern Family Institute for Israel Studies seeks to educate American Jewry about complex issues related to Israel and Zionism. Harry Stern’s son, Jerry, said the annual lecture exposes the Gratz community to critical discussions about timely topics.
 
“It was my father’s intent to bring to Gratz those academics and scholars associated with thinktanks and institutions of higher learning who ordinarily wouldn’t come here,” Jerry Stern said. “This lecture series allows Gratz to benefit from the latest expertise and knowledge of topics pertinent to the Jewish community.”
 
Guiora’s lecture, titled “Human Rights, Terrorism, and the Dilemma of Israeli Democracy,” begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the Gratz College Reading Room. This event is open to the public, but registration is recommended. CLE credit is available. Click here for more information or to register.

CONTACT:
Alysa Landry | Communications Liaison | alandry@gratz.edu
Dodi Klimoff | Executive Assistant to the President | dklimoff@gratz.edu
Naomi Housman | Director of Institutional Advancement | nhousman@gratz.edu