Israel Reflections—Golan Heights, the Galilee and the Druze

The group had a memorable night at the kibbutz and were very sad to leave the cozy cottages we were able to stay in. Our busy day (Tuesday) of sight-seeing started with a visit to Mount Bental. At the peak of Mt. Bental we had views of Golan and Syria. Taylor Brisco and her friends went into the army bunker to imagine what it was like to be a solider during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ms. Brisco said “Visiting Mount Bental was one of my favorite activities due to the historical significance of the mountain peak and also for the amazing view of Golan—and even Syria.” Below is a view from the bunker over to Mt. Hermon where this is still snow…

View from Mount Bental, Israel

Continue ReadingIsrael Reflections—Golan Heights, the Galilee and the Druze

Israel Reflections 2019–A Visit to Palestine

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the West Bank aka Palestine, and again had an amazing new experience for me.   It was also pretty impactful for the students as you will read below.  We had with us for the entire afternoon, the very talented Riman Barakat, a Fulbright scholar who completed her studies at Marquette and perennial speaker to our group.  As a native of East Jerusalem, Riman also serves as a Director for East Jerusalem and Palestinian Relations for Jerusalem Season of Culture.

Continue ReadingIsrael Reflections 2019–A Visit to Palestine

The Marquette Law Review is Quoted by CNN News

Marquette Law Review CoverA quote from and a link to a student-written comment in the Marquette Law Review made it into a CNN story this week.

CNN reported that on Friday President Trump criticized the Flores Settlement. According to CNN, he said, “We’ve had some very bad court decisions. The Flores decision is a disaster, I have to tell you. Judge Flores, whoever you may be, that decision is a disaster for our country. A disaster.”

The Flores Settlement, a settlement agreement from Reno v. Flores that limits the amount of time that immigrant children can be detained and governs the conditions under which those children can be detained, is actually named after the plaintiff in that case, Jenny Lisette Flores. Flores had fled El Salvador as a teenager.

CNN then briefly explained the Flores case, quoting from the comment, Codifying the Flores Settlement Agreement: Seeking to Protect Immigrant Children in U.S. Custody:

[Flores] fled her country in 1985 and tried to enter the United States to be with her aunt. The former government agency Immigration and Naturalization Service arrested her at the border, and she was placed in a juvenile detention center, where she was handcuffed and strip-searched, according to the Marquette Law Review. The INS refused to grant her aunt custody of Jenny because it wouldn’t release minors to “third-party adults,” the law review article said.

The link brought readers to the 2012 comment authored by Rebeca M. López (L’12), who was then a student at Marquette University Law School. Lopez is now an associate attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., in Milwaukee.

*Hat tip to Tyler Wickman (L’08) for noticing the CNN story. Tyler will be our May Alumni Blogger of the Month.

Continue ReadingThe Marquette Law Review is Quoted by CNN News