about isaac amon 

Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi of the Spanish & Portuguese Community of the United Kingdom

Meet Dr. Isaac Amon: a storyteller, scholar, and lawyer. Inspired by his multicultural upbringing, Isaac's journey began at his grandparents' feet, sparking a lifelong passion for history, law, and a mission to rekindle the untold cultural and historical narratives of the past. Join him in uncovering a vibrant yet largely unknown tapestry of resilience and inspiration across the ages.

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storytelling & the spark of curiosity

Isaac's exploration of his family heritage ignited in the presence of his grandparents, a privilege that shaped his formative years. With Sephardic roots on his father's side and Ashkenazi lineage from his mother, his multicultural upbringing was enriched by his paternal grandfather's Turkish origins, grandmother’s Syrian/Lebanese roots, and their migration to Chicago in the late 1950s. On his mother’s side, his grandmother survived a pogrom in Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and his grandfather grew up in Pre-Great Depression St. Louis before serving in the US Army during WWII and fighting for civil rights. Nurturing an early fascination with history, both sets of grandparents fed his curiosity during his youth with stories from their respective cultures and childhoods, allowing him to absorb the narratives, traditions, and memories. He was privileged to know them all. 

For many, however, this connection and immersion in their heritage and history has been out of reach. In Spain and Portugal, Jews lived and thrived for at least 2,000 years, if not longer, leaving their profound mark on culture, literature, medicine, philosophy, and more before their forcible expulsion and conversion in the Late Middle Ages. These consequences endure today; an astonishing near quarter of Latin Americans have Sephardic heritage, for example, that they themselves may not yet be aware of. For those who are curious about rediscovering their history, culture, and traditions, we can do so by sharing and bringing light to all these untold stories.

Isaac amon at the grave of his grandfather's grandfather. He was a Rabbi, professor of mathematics, & member of ISTANBUL communal council in the early 20th century.

Istanbul, July 2019

aCCOLADES

Isaac Amon’s professional achievements and accolades

In law school, he was awarded the Dagen-Legomsky Public Interest Fellowship to work at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague and was a research assistant to the Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. He also served as Legislative Director at the Missouri Department of Corrections and Legal Counsel in death penalty cases to the Missouri Parole Board. Immediately before the global Coronavirus pandemic, he was part of a small NGO where he helped to investigate and document atrocity crimes committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. 

With a background in international and comparative history and law, he studied at Utrecht University, Hebrew University, and the Sorbonne. He has lectured on criminal procedure, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; the Inquisition, and the Holocaust,  antisemitism and Jewish history to professional and lay audiences in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Israel. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Law to visiting students, lawyers, and judges and he has been published in law review and professional journals in Europe and the USA.

Graduating summa cum laude, his focus on medieval history and the Spanish Inquisition marked the inception of his exploration. His academic pursuits culminated in a J.D., LL.M in alternative dispute resolution, and a J.S.D. (PhD in Law) in comparative law, criminal procedure, and legal history from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Today, Isaac is dedicated to making history, memory, culture, and law engaging and accesible for people of all backgrounds. 

Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg Prosecutor, who died in April 2023, aged 103.