A 19th Century Case Involving Papal Law

Allen Bodner is a corporate and real estate attorney who has decades of experience in the New York legal community. Having served as an adjunct professor of law at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Allen Bodner has lectured publicly on a variety of topics, from Jewish Supreme Court Justices to the Mortara Affair.

Taking place in 1858, the Mortara Affair centered on a police squad, under orders of an Inquisitor, arriving at the Bologna residence of a Jewish merchant family and taking their six-year-old son. The reason for this was that Edgardo Mortara had undergone a secret baptism under the care of his Catholic nanny as an infant, when he was extremely ill and in danger of dying. Having survived, Edgardo was now considered officially Catholic and must, per Papal law, be educated in Catholic schools. This led to his forcible separation from his birth family, with Pope Pius IX taking personal oversight over his religious tutelage.

Such kidnappings were not unheard of in that era, but the political winds had changed and public opinion turned against the Vatican in this matter, in places as disparate as England, France, and the United States. This singular case, with Mortara as a cause celebre, instigated Mazzini and Garibaldi’s revolutionary efforts to wrest political control of the region from the Catholic state and form a unified Italian state that was secular in nature. As for Edgardo, he was never returned to his family and the church never apologized for his kidnapping. He ultimately chose the course of priesthood and lived in a Belgian monastery for much of his adult life.

Hebrew Day School Emphasizes

Attorney Allen Bodner earned his law degree from Columbia Law School at Columbia University before establishing his law practice. Besides his work as an attorney, Allen Bodner spends his time contributing to his community, having served as president of Yeshivah of Flatbush, a Hebrew day school in Brooklyn, New York.

First opened in 1927, Yeshivah of Flatbush aims to educate, empower, and inspire students age two through high school. To that end, the school combines the teachings of the Torah and other traditional studies with language, history, mathematics, and more standard educational programs. Additionally, the school instituted the Flatbush Five program to instill character development into its students.

Focusing on five specific characteristics, the Flatbush Five program at Yeshivah of Flatbush introduces students to the concepts of honesty, humility, kindness, respect, and responsibility. According to research cited by the organization, when students possess these five characteristics, they also perform better in school and life and exhibit increased self-esteem. The institute dedicates one month during the school year to each trait to familiarize both students and their families with each one's practice.  

United States V. One Tintoretto - Landmark Case on Forfeitures

New York attorney Allen Bodner earned his JD from Columbia Law School. With decades of experience litigating complex cases arising from business transactions, attorney Allen Bodner has been involved in various landmark cases. One of them was United States of America V. One Tintoretto.

The case revolved around a valuable painting titled The Holy Family with Saint Catherine and Honored Donor. Created in the 1500s by Venetian artist Tintoretto, the painting was looted from the Dresden Museum in East Germany at the end of World War II. A Soviet Union general took it to his country where Isaac Silberberg purchased it from a second-hand shop.

Silberberg lived with the painting for many years before deciding to sell it. He made an agreement with Raymond Vinokur, a business associate, to sell the painting in the United States on a commission basis. Vinokur resorted to getting the painting into the United States using shady tactics, falsely claiming that the property was his, for his own use, and not for sale, to avoid paying customs fees. The FBI caught up with him and arrested him. Vinokur plead guilty to making false statements in a Customs Bureau, and the US government obtained possession of the painting.

Later, the government commenced an instant forfeiture case on the painting (United States V. One Tintoretto), claiming that the painting was illegally smuggled into the country. It had a notice of attachment published. The owner, Silberberg, claimed ownership of the painting and filed a verified response in court.

The government argued that the owner’s innocence was no defense in a claim of forfeiture. The claimant, through his counsel, argued that, borrowing from the decision in Calero-Toledo V. Pearson Yacht Leasing Company, it would be difficult to reject the constitutional claim of an owner who proves that he was not involved in or aware of the wrongful activity and had done what was reasonably expected to prevent such use of his property. The Southern District Court held that the owner should not lose his art because an agent fraudulently entered it into the United States.

When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport

A New York City attorney with his own private practice, Allen Bodner has spearheaded extensive litigation in areas ranging from general corporate law to limited partnerships and real estate issues. In addition to his accomplishments as an attorney, Allen Bodner authored the 2011 book When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport.

Published by Excelsior Editions, When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport takes a close look at boxing as an important component of American culture, specifically focusing on the evolution of the sport between 1910 and 1940, when 26 Jewish boxers became world champions. The book offers an in-depth examination of the leading role that Jewish people have taken in the boxing world as well as the prominent place that boxing has held in Jewish culture. It also analyzes Jewish boxing themes in literature and the natural appeal of boxing among recent Jewish immigrants. 

The late Hollywood writer Budd Schulberg contributed the foreword to When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport. The author of the screenplay On the Waterfront and the novels What Makes Sammy Run? and The Harder They Fall, Mr. Schulberg praised When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport as a “work of devoted research” and a “labor of love.”