Steve Zipperstein

Steve Zipperstein is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He concurrently serves as Director of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, a Distinguished Senior Scholar at the UCLA Center for Middle East Development, and a Senior Fellow with The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation. He also holds visiting lecturer roles at Tel Aviv University Law School and the Hertie School in Berlin, and teaches in UCLA’s Global Studies Program and School of Engineering. His legal career spans over 40 years, including roles as a federal prosecutor, Chief Legal Officer at BlackBerry and Verizon Wireless, and Counselor to Attorney General Janet Reno during the 1995 Waco hearings.

Zipperstein’s research focuses on Criminal Justice Policy, Legal History of the Middle East Conflict, and Technology and Cybersecurity Law. He has authored three seminal books on the Israeli-Palestinian legal conflict, including The Legal Case for Palestine: A Critical Assessment (2024) and Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948 (2022). His work integrates historical legal analysis with contemporary geopolitical challenges.

Recent publications (2023-2025) emphasize proportionality in warfare, international legal frameworks, and cybersecurity governance. Earlier works (1992-1997) explored sentencing guidelines and legal defense strategies. His scholarship has been featured in outlets like Justice: The Legal Magazine, Routledge series, and academic journals.

Zipperstein has received recognition as an elected member of the American Law Institute and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. His legal advocacy extends to congressional testimony on telecommunications policy and media commentary on Middle Eastern conflicts, including interviews with BBC, ABC News, and The Hague Initiative.