How the National Lawyers Guild Became Terror Apologists

It began as a liberal organization before World War II and included many legal luminaries, including Jews. Quickly, though, it was taken over by the Communist Party, and it supported the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939. As a result of its support for Hitler, many liberal members quit.

Committed Communists who always follow the party line remained members. Following World War II, the Guild again attracted some liberals who saw it as an alternative to the conservative American Bar Association. In the 1970s, it was taken over by radical leftists¸ including some members of the Communist Party. It was no longer a home for liberals.

In 1948, the Guild followed the lead of the Soviet Union in supporting the establishment of Israel. When the Soviet Union and the Communist Party turned against Israel in the 1960s, the Guild followed suit in opposing Israel and supporting Palestinian terrorists. Nonetheless, some liberals, including Jews, stayed on as members. It remains to be seen whether it will lose the support of Jewish liberals, following the events of October 7, 2023.

[This isn’t the first time Dersh has gone after the NLG, not by a long shot. It may be the moment when his arguments find their best purchase, however, especially among Jewish liberals, but perhaps more broadly among NLG members now too. — Ed]