Abraham (Avi) Bell is a Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law and at Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Law. Bell received his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Chicago, and his S.J.D. from Harvard.
Bell is a widely cited expert on property law, especially government takings of property, international law, especially the laws of war, and economic analysis of law.
In addition, Bell frequently writes about the Arab-Israeli conflict. He also debated Richard Goldstone in a debate at Stanford Law School entitled “The Goldstone Report and the Application of International Law to the Arab-Israeli Conflict,” where a few days later, Goldstone said that “contrary to the report’s assertions, Israel did not intentionally target civilians.”
In 2006, Bell criticized Human Rights Watch for its reports on the Second Lebanon War, claiming that the organization's claims "mislead readers and betray ... bias," and that "HRW investigation [in Srifa, Lebanon] was either professionally incompetent or a complete fabrication" and "nothing more than window dressing for predetermined anti-Israel conclusions." Human Rights Watch responded by claiming that Bell "displays a curious ignorance about even the basic requirements of international humanitarian law" However, a 2007 report of Human Rights Watch admitted that its "allegation [of criminality in Srifa] turned out to be wrong." The report stated that "eyewitnesses were not always forthcoming about the identity of those that died, and in the case of Srifa, misled our researchers ... a visit to the graveyard made it possible to establish that most of those killed in Srifa were actually combatants," and concluding that "further Human Rights Watch investigations into a deadly strike at Srifa established that an Israeli attack there killed 17 combatants and five civilians on July 19, not the 26 civilians claimed in Fatal Strikes" and "Human Rights Watch regrets the serious inaccuracy in its initial Fatal Strikes report."
Bell was formerly a visiting professor at Fordham University School of Law and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
He currently teaches property and copyright at University of San Diego School of Law.
2016 (with Eugene Kontorovich). Palestine, Uti Possidetis Juris and the Borders of Israel Arizona Law Review. SSRN working paper
2016 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). The Dual Grant Theory of Fair Use University of Chicago Law Review. SSRN working paper
2016 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Of Property and Information Columbia Law Review. SSRN working paper
2015 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Copyright Trust Cornell Law Review. SSRN working paper
2015. Economic Analysis of the Law of Territorial Sovereignty. SSRN working paper
2015. Title in the Shadow of Possession. THE LAW AND ECONOMICS OF POSSESSION (Yun-Chien Chang, ed.). SSRN working paper
2014 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Reinventing Copyright and Patent Michigan Law Review. SSRN working paper
2014 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Governing Communities by Auction University of Chicago Law Review. Published version
2013 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Property Lost in Translation University of Chicago Law Review. Published version
2012 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). The Case for Imperfect Enforcement of Property Rights University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Published version
2010 A Critique of the Goldstone Report and its Treatment of International Humanitarian Law. American Society of International Law Proceedings. SSRN working paper
2010 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). The Hidden Function of Takings Compensation Virginia Law Review. Published version
2010 (with Dov Shefi). The Mythical Post-2005 Israeli Occupation of the Gaza Strip Israel Affairs. SSRN working paper
2009 Private Takings University of Chicago Law Review. Published version
2009 Should Decreases in Property Value Caused by Regulations Be Compensated? LAND POLICIES AND PROPERTY RIGHTS (Gregory K. Ingram & Yu-Hung Hong, eds.). SSRN working paper
2008 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Reconfiguring Property in Three Dimensions University of Chicago Law Review. SSRN Working Paper
2008 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). The Evolution of Private and Open Access Property Theoretical Inquiries in Law. Published version
2007 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Taking Compensation Private Stanford Law Review. Published version
2006 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). The Uselessness of Public Use Columbia Law Review. Published version
2005 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). A Theory of Property Cornell Law Review. Published version
2005 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Of Property and Federalism Yale Law Journal. Published version
2003 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Of Property and Anti-Property Michigan Law Review. SSRN working paper
2003 Not Just Compensation Journal of Contemporary Legal issues. SSRN working paper
2002 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Pliability Rules University of Michigan Law Review. SSRN working paper
2001 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Givings Yale Law Journal. Published version
2001 (with Gideon Parchomovsky). Takings Reassessed Virginia Law Review. SSRN working paper
