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A Jewish lawyer sued Henry Ford and changed how we think about hate speech

JL;DR SUMMARY Aaron Sapiro, a Jewish lawyer and labor leader, made history by suing Henry Ford for libel in a case that became America's first modern hate speech trial. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryDemocracyHate SpeechDocumentaryNeo NazismHenry FordLibel TrialThe Dearborn IndependentAaron Sapiro

Places mentioned

Detroit, Michigan, United States
"King is not Jewish but was raised in Detroit, where Fords company was headquartered."
San Francisco, California, United States
"Born to a poor family in San Francisco in 1884, Sapiro survived being abandoned in an orphanage and overcame financial hardship to eventually graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Law."
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
"...eventually graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Law."
Canada
"He was particularly troubled by Sapiros visits to farmers in Canada."
New York, United States
"The documentary Sapiro v. Ford: The Jew Who Sued Henry Ford is showing at the New York Jewish Film Festival starting Jan. 21..."

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Cairo Item ID 73153
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Retrieved 2026-01-21 05:30:49 UTC
Curated 2026-01-21 08:31:30 UTC