Aryeh Neier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aryeh Neier
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Neier in 2013
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| Born | April 22, 1937 |
| Education | Cornell University (BS) |
| Spouse(s) | Yvette Celton |
| Children | 1 |
Aryeh Neier (born April 22, 1937) is an American human rights activist. He is known for helping to create Human Rights Watch, a major organization that works to protect people's rights around the world. He also led the Open Society Institute, a group that supports many good causes. Before that, he worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which defends the rights of people in the United States.
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Early Life and Education
Aryeh Neier was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1937. His family was Jewish. When he was two years old, his family had to flee Germany in 1939. This was because of the Nazis, who were persecuting Jewish people. He became a refugee, meaning someone who has to leave their home country for safety. Later, he moved to the United States. He went to Cornell University and graduated with high honors in 1961.
Career in Human Rights
Aryeh Neier has spent his life working to protect human rights. He has held important roles in several major organizations. He also taught law at New York University.
Working with the ACLU
Neier joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1963. The ACLU is a group that works to protect the civil rights and freedoms of all Americans. He became the executive director of the ACLU in 1970. During his time there, the group grew a lot, gaining many new members.
One important case during his leadership involved a group that wanted to march in Skokie, Illinois. Many people in Skokie were Jewish and had survived the Holocaust. The ACLU decided to support the group's right to march. This was a very difficult decision. Neier explained that protecting the right to speak freely, even for groups you strongly disagree with, helps protect everyone's rights. He believed that if the government could stop one group from speaking, it could stop any group. This idea is called the rule of law.
Neier also led the ACLU's efforts to protect the rights of prisoners. He worked to make sure people in mental hospitals were treated fairly. ..... In his 1979 book, Defending My Enemy, Neier explained why he believed it was important to protect free speech for all groups.
Founding Human Rights Watch
In 1978, Neier helped start a group called Helsinki Watch. This group later became Human Rights Watch in 1988. As a human rights activist, Neier has investigated many human rights problems around the world. He helped create the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. This court was set up to bring justice for serious crimes committed during a conflict.
Writing and Teaching
Aryeh Neier has written many articles and opinion pieces. His writings have appeared in well-known publications like The New York Review of Books and The New York Times Book Review. He has also taught a course on human rights at the Paris School of International Affairs in Paris. His 1979 book, Defending My Enemy, is being republished in September 2025. It will include a new essay about how free speech has changed over the last 50 years.
Books by Aryeh Neier
- Dossier: The Secret Files They Keep on You (1974)
- Crime and Punishment: A Radical Solution (1976)
- Defending My Enemy: American Nazis in Skokie, Illinois, and the Risks of Freedom (1979)
- Only Judgment: The Limits of Litigation in Social Change (1982)
- War Crimes: Brutality, Terror, and the Struggle for Justice (1998)
- Taking Liberties: Four Decades in the Struggle for Rights (2003)
- The International Human Rights Movement (2012)
