Shira Kotz

During my time in Israel, I had the opportunity to work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as well as the legal clinics of Hebrew University. In the first part of my internship with the EEOC, I had the opportunity to research employer discrimination training programs around the world, and different case law connected to segregation on the basis of religion. My favorite part was learning about the differences between US and Israeli case law and how they both handle their discrimination issues. I was also able to gain a more hands-on perspective through sitting in on various client meetings, and employer-training sessions connected to discrimination. 

In the second half of my semester, I worked in two pro-bono legal clinics: one focusing on the field of disability employment law, and the other on women's rights in the workplace. I also had the opportunity to participate in a course on Israeli disability law at Hebrew University.  Courses such as Labor and Employment Law and Labor Relations, helped prepare me for this internship by giving me a comparative perspective that was valuable for my work in Israel.

I am so glad I was able to do such substantive work in top organizations in this field in Israel; it truly has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and has shown me how interested I am in pursuing this further. I hope to be able to take what I learned in this internship and in the ILR School to further explore the Labor Law field.