Jeremiah S. Gutman

Jeremiah S. Gutman (c. 1924 – February 25, 2004) was an American civil rights lawyer and founding member of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Biography

Gutman served in World War II as a corporal in the 2nd platoon, Company G of the 273rd Infantry Regiment in the 69th Infantry Division, receiving a Purple Heart.[1][2] During the 1948 Palestine war, he collected light arms to smuggle to the Haganah.[3][2]

As a student at the New York University School of Law, Gutman edited the New York University Law Review.[1] In 1949, he joined the law firm Levy, Gutman, Goldberg & Kaplan, where his father was a partner.[1] In 1951, hoping to combat McCarthyism, Gutman became a founding member of the New York Civil Liberties Union.[1]

Over the course of his career, Gutman litigated many civil rights cases, with prominent clients including Abbie Hoffman, Douglas Faneuil, Jerry Rubin, and conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War.[4] He also defended cult leaders such as Sun Myung Moon and leaders of the Hare Krishna movement;[1][3] sociologist Stjepan Meštrović described Gutman as "sympathetic to cult movements, express[ing] regret that the First Amendment is not applied vigorously to defend them, and refer[ring] to 'deprogramming' as a 'dirty business'".[5]

In 2001, Gutman became the chair of the National Coalition Against Censorship, where he had served as an officer since the 1980s.[4] He became president of Meretz USA in the same year.[3] Gutman died from a heart attack on February 25, 2004.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Lueck, Thomas J (26 February 2004). "Jeremiah S. Gutman, 80, a Fighter for Free Speech". New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Moore, Deborah Dash (11 November 2004). GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation. Harvard University Press. pp. 160, 253. ISBN 978-0-674-01509-8. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Colton, Miriam (19 March 2004). "J. Gutman, Rights Advocate, 80". The Forward. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Jeremiah Gutman - NCAC Chair Dies". National Coalition Against Censorship. 19 April 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  5. ^ Mestrovic, Stjepan G. (1990). "Cults and New Religious Movements: A Report of the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion of the American Psychiatric Association". Journal of Psychiatry & Law. 18 (1–2): 226. doi:10.1177/0093185390018001- (inactive 1 November 2024). Retrieved 12 April 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)