Demonstrators in support of Israel gathered to denounce antisemitism and call for the release of Israeli hostages, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 14, 2023. (Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
The event has for years been named after the late Bork, who, incidentally, once helped break a law firm’s avoidance of hiring Jewish lawyers, according to Senate testimony by his peers in 1987.
The judges who will participate in the discussion include seven Trump appointees, including Altman, one appointee of former President George Bush, and a justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Altman, a vocal Jewish judge who is based in the Southern District of Florida, said he has also arranged numerous trips for federal judges of varying faiths to visit Israel after the Oct. 7 attack.
He said that although his personal conversations about Israel had largely been centered on campuses, "it became clear" to him that the judiciary needed to chime in because heated discourse surrounding the topic involved legal questions.
President Donald Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. (Evelyn Hockstein/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The discussion comes as the Trump administration has aggressively targeted noncitizens for speech that it has claimed in court is at odds with its national security posture because it is too critical of Israel and potentially supportive of Hamas.
Free speech proponents have warned that offensive and politically charged speech is protected under the Constitution. In the case of Mahmoud Khalil, which has become a flashpoint in these discussions, the courts have been examining the extent to which noncitizens enjoy First Amendment protections.
Altman said he has observed a one-sidedness in the opposite direction on campuses and that pro-Israel expression has been suppressed. Just this year, New York University canceled Jewish legal scholar Ilya Shaprio’s talk there because of what it said were security risks from protesters.
"I was shocked, honestly, to discover that so many young people in our country, especially on our college campuses, had a totally incorrect view about the one Jewish state in the world and its role in the Middle East and its history and how it came to be, and it also became clear that the sort of debate that was taking place on campus wasn't really a debate, because only one side of the story was being told," Altman said.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/unprecedented-antisemitism-panel-tackles-surging-national-issue