Given our class discussion about Jewish privilege/minority status I found it interesting that many articles about Judge Garland contained phrases like this:
"Some progressive groups have expressed disappointment that President
Obama nominated an older white male to the Supreme Court rather than a
woman or a minority member, but the White House said that Mr. Obama’s
record of diverse judicial appointments was unprecedented."(Emphasis mine)
http://www.nytimes.com/live/obama-supreme-court-nomination/progressive-groups-lament/
Also interesting, Judge Garland in his comments when introduced by President Obama, framed his nomination with a narrative of his family's American-Jewish history. Thoughts?
"My family deserves much of the credit for the path that led me here. My
grandparents left the Pale of Settlement at the border of Western
Russian and Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, fleeing anti-Semitism,
and hoping to make a better life for their children in America. They
settled in the Midwest, eventually making their way to Chicago.
There, my father, who ran the smallest of small businesses from a room
in our basement, took me with him as he made the rounds to his
customers, always impressing upon me the importance of hard work and
fair dealing. There, my mother headed the local PTA and school board
and directed a volunteer services agency, all the while instilling in my
sister and me the understanding that service to the community is a
responsibility above all others. Even now, my sisters honor that
example by serving the children of their communities."
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/16/remarks-president-announcing-judge-merrick-garland-his-nominee-supreme
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1 comment:
Nice catch, Ben. I had been focusing my reading of the Garland coverage on Senate Republican intransigence and obstinacy but the Jewish line is quite interesting. I wonder how it his "non minority" status intersects with perceptions of AIPAC and general Israel lobbying in the federal government. It seems to me that Jewish heritage/religious affiliation may not be seen as "minority" any more because there are simply so many Jews in positions of prominence and Jewish concerns (aka Israel) are so disproportionately covered. (For instance, Rabbi David Paskin was interviewed on CNN today about the Trump protests planned at AIPAC...)
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