jews d

in
the

Champion
Of Human
Rights

Yale Law School
honors Michigan
native Jim Silk
for human rights
advocacy.

Jim Silk with his son Jonah, wife Jean and daughter Kira

12

December 28 • 2017

jn

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hat does it mean to be
a leading human rights
advocate in the unstable,
violent world of 2017? Some would
find it an impossible mission, but
Professor James J. Silk, 70,
who grew up in Lansing,
“never bemoans the state of
our world,” according to a
colleague. Silk, who prefers
to be called Jim, was hon-
ored recently as the first
Binger Clinical Professor of
Human Rights at Yale Law
Jim Silk
School, where he teaches
at the Allard K. Lowenstein
International Human
Rights Clinic.
Silk was introduced at his Binger
inaugural lecture as “a brilliant pro-
fessor, mentor and friend known
for his empathy, humility and opti-
mism.”
The dean of Yale Law School
said that he is considered the
“dean of clinical human rights
work in the U.S.”
Recently Silk was interviewed by
phone about his human rights work
and how he maintains his dedica-
tion during what he describes as a
“dark time.” He has said that he was
born a pessimist but became an
optimist by necessity.
Here is the interview, edited for
length and clarity.
Q: What is clinical human rights
work?
JS: There was a change in legal
education so that it should not
be just case law but needed to be
experiential. Law students help with
legal services for people who don’t
have them, and professors oversee
their efforts. Every state has these
clinics. International human rights
clinics mostly work with organiza-
tions all around the world that are
trying to advance human rights. Our
clinic is diverse. We draft and file
petitions and friend-of-the-court
briefs. In the U.S., the clinic is oppos-
ing state statutes that violate the
rights of the homeless and allow the
overuse of solitary confinement in
prisons. In Norway, we are opposing
new oil drilling licenses in the Arctic
that would contribute to global
warming and violate Norway’s con-
stitution.
Q: How did you become inter-
ested in human rights work?

JS: It was long before I became
interested in law. As a young person,
I was motivated by the big ques-
tions. I was very interested in the
Holocaust, apartheid, genocide and
massive discrimination. In
my 30s, I started working in
the field — for an organiza-
tion in D.C. that focused
on refugees. I was writing
about legal issues and real-
ized the role law and law-
yers played and went to Yale
Law School. In grad school,
I had pushed for businesses
to divest in countries such
as South Africa. I became
a member of the local Amnesty
International. I lived in China and
saw firsthand how a repressive gov-
ernment affected people I knew. I
ran a small human rights organiza-
tion in Washington.
Q: Did you have a Jewish educa-
tion, and do you bring a Jewish per-
spective to human rights?
JS: I had a Midwestern Reform
Jewish education with Hebrew
school, Sunday school and a bar
mitzvah. I grew up during the Civil
Rights Movement and saw Martin
Luther King Jr. with Jewish people
by his side. My understanding of
the foundation of Jewish values is
why I chose this work. Tikkun olam
(Hebrew for repair of the world) is
who I want to be.
Q: When was the field of human
rights created?
JS: The idea of rights that belong
to all people in all places at all
times really came into being after
World War II with the creation of
the United Nations’ proclamation of
the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in 1948.
Q: Do human rights advocates
focus on preventing violence and
genocide or is their mission broader,
including environmental and quality
of life?
JS: It encompasses civil, political
and legal rights including prohibi-
tion of torture and oppression of
free speech. Human rights also
include economic, social and cul-
tural rights — poverty and the effect
of environmental conditions on the
most vulnerable. In the U.S., the
focus is on civil rights although we
may talk about social justice.
Q: Can you tell me about your

