Obama Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland Is Jewish. Does It Matter?

Lauren Markoe
Religion News Service
Mar. 16, 2016

President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, would be the current court's fourth Jewish justice if confirmed.

For Jews, who represent about 2 percent of the population, holding 44 percent of the seats on the court might be a point of pride.

But is it anything more than that?

"On the one hand, we're incredibly proud. He's a Reform Jew and he belongs to one of our synagogues," said Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, the head of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the political arm of the largest branch of Judaism in the U.S. "We're happy for him and we wish him mazel tov and it's a wonderful thing for our movement.

"At the same time, one's faith has no bearing on one's qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice," said Pesner, whose group has criticized Senate Republicans for stating that they will not consider any Obama nominee to the court.

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