Neal Sher
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Neal M. Sher (29 August 1947 – 3 October 2021) was an American lawyer who served as head of the Office of Special Investigations of the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
and as executive director of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...
(AIPAC). Since 2002, he was a solo practitioner in
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and, since 2020, in
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, as well. Sher graduated
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in 1968 and
New York University Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...
in 1972. At NYU Law School, he was an Editor of the Law Review and was admitted to the
Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...
. He clerked for Judge Barrington D. Parker for two years, then worked in a Washington, DC law firm from 1974 to 1979, before joining the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
. From 1983 to 1994, Sher headed the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the Justice Department's Nazi prosecution unit, where he oversaw the
denaturalization Denaturalization is the loss of citizenship against the will of the person concerned. Denaturalization is often applied to ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Denaturalization can be a penalty for actions considered criminal by the state ...
and deportation of dozens of onetime Nazi war criminals. His investigation of the Nazi past of former United Nations Secretary General
Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations#List of secretaries-general, secretary-general of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 a ...
resulted in Sher's submission of a report to the United States Attorney General. That report, in turn, led to Waldheim's placement on the watch list of persons ineligible to enter the United States. In 1989, Sher received the Raoul Wallenberg "Hero in Our time" Award of the Shaare Tzedek Medical Center for his work. For his accomplishments in pursuing justice in the Nazi cases, Sher received numerous other awards, including: the Benjamin Cardozo Award of the Anti-Defamation League, a Special Commendation for Courage and Dedication in Pursuit of Justice of the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
, a Special Commendation for Pursuit of Justice of
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
, Man of the Year of both the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization and the Shomrim Society, the Distinguished Service Award of the Survivors of the Riga Ghetto organization, the Humanitarian Award of Emunah Women of America, and a U.S. Department of Justice
Senior Executive Service The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the United States federal civil service equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service Reform Act of ...
Meritorious Achievement Award. Sher was the executive director of AIPAC from 1994 to 1996. As director, he led AIPAC's support of the
Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...
, sparring with rival lobbyists
Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA; ) is an American nonprofit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th century ...
over the issue. He apparently clashed with the board of directors, however, and resigned shortly after
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
's surprise victory in the 1996 Israel prime ministerial election to return to work on Holocaust-related issues. In the documentary ''I have Never Forgotten You'' about famed Nazi hunter
Simon Wiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal (31 December 190820 September 2005) was an Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer. He studied architecture, and was living in Lwów at the outbreak of World War II. He survived the Janowska concentration camp (la ...
, Sher is shown criticizing Wiesenthal, saying, "There were and still remain today alive, many people who personally suffered at the hands of Joseph Mengele and to hold out hope to them, and these people held out hope, that their tormenter, their torturer, this mass murderer would be brought to justice, when the information was not accurate, I think is cruel." From 1997 to 2000, Sher was a special adviser to
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's
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s prosecution unit. In 1998, Sher became chief of staff of the
International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) was established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in August 1998 to identify, settle, and pay individual Holocaust era insurance claims at no cost to clai ...
. He resigned in June 2002 after a ''
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'' investigation disclosed that he had received over $5000 for some first-class air travel to Europe, and he disclosed to the commission that he had received "unauthorized reimbursements." According to the chair, former Secretary of State
Lawrence Eagleburger Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger (August 1, 1930 – June 4, 2011) was an American statesman and career diplomat, who served briefly as the secretary of state under President George H. W. Bush from December 1992 to January 1993, one of the shortest t ...
, Sher made "immediate and full restitution" after self-disclosing the violation. In 2003, Sher consented to disbarment from the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. He said he agreed to disbarment because he could not afford to litigate the matter, and remained a member of the New York bar, despite a provision of New York law, 22 NYCRR 603.3, which requires "reciprocal" disbarment for any attorney disbarred in another jurisdiction. The agreement means that there is no public record of the bar's investigation. Sher was in the news for his representation of his friend Morris Talansky, who is a witness in the investigation of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; , ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009. The son of a former Herut politician, Olmert was first elected to the Knesset for Likud in 1973, at th ...
. As of 2017, Sher represented a class action for the victims of the Fort Hood terror attack. "What I hope and believe is that the announcement today by the Pentagon shows they have changed course... It's our expectation that this will resolve it and these people will get the benefits. We're going to be monitoring it and keeping a close eye on it and in touch with members of Congress to make sure this isn’t hocus-pocus and that they follow through." Sher was admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court; the US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit; US District Court, Southern District of New York; US District Court, Eastern District of New York; US District Court Northern District of New York; and US District Court, District of Columbia.


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Offices of Neal Sher


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sher, Neal 1947 births 2021 deaths AIPAC members American lawyers American Jews Cornell University alumni New York University School of Law alumni