He had himself suffered discrimination because of his religion: in Heidelberg and Jena he was denied the position of a university lecturer, in Hamburg in 1829 he was not allowed to practice as a lawyer.

In reaction, Riesser in 1830 published an essay "Stellung der Bekenner des mosaischen Glaubens in Deutschland" (On the Position of Confessors of the Jewish Faith in Germany).

In 1832 he founded the journal Der Jude, periodische Blätter für Religions- und Gewissensfreiheit (The Jew, Periodical for Freedom of Religion and Thought).

In 1840 the Senate of Hamburg (city-state government) passed a law stating that "künftighin auch ein oder zwei Mitglieder der hiesigen israelitischen Gemeinde, wenn sie sonst dazu qualifiziert wären, Notare werden könnten" (in future also one or two members of the local Jewish community might become notaries, if they otherwise were duly qualified).

This change of mind of the senate was brought about by the death of the Jewish notary Meyer Israel Bresselau, who had been installed during French annexation in 1811.