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Last update - 17:27 12/01/2008 Bader Ginsburg: U.S. Supreme Court makeup signals Jews' acceptance By The Associated Press Tags: Louis Brandeis  WASHINGTON - Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday that the change in U.S. acceptance of Jews can be seen on the Supreme Court, where two members are Jewish yet their faith played no role in their selection. Ginsburg, appointed to the court by President Clinton in 1993, is the sixth Jewish justice. Justice Stephen Breyer, named the following year, is the seventh. "Our religion had nothing to do with our appointment. It didn't influence our choice in one way or another," Ginsburg said. Advertisement Referring to her five Jewish predecessors, Ginsburg said, "We're justices who happen to be Jews. We're not Jewish justices as they were." Ginsburg, 74, spoke at a 100-year-old synagogue in downtown Washington about her heritage and participation in the television documentary "The Jewish Americans" that is airing over three weeks on public television. Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish justice, joined the court in 1916. In the documentary, Ginsburg describes Brandeis' encounters with anti-Semitism on the court in the person of Justice James McReynolds. "McReynolds was an out-and-out anti-Semite and he treated this brilliant man with utter disdain. When Brandeis would speak at conference, he would stand up and leave the room," Ginsburg said. One year, she said, there was no official court photograph because McReynolds refused to stand next to Brandeis. "Brandeis ignored it. Dignity is the right word to describe his response to that bigotry," Ginsburg said. Ginsburg was born and raised in Brooklyn, the daughter of an immigrant father and a mother who was born four months after her family arrived in the United States. "She was conceived in the old world and born in the new world," Ginsburg said. Ginsburg's mother was a bookkeeper before she got married. "What's the difference between a bookkeeper in New York's garment district and a U.S. Supreme Court justice?" she said in the documentary. "One generation." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iranian rhetoric Iranian boats threaten, so the U.S. candidates step up rhetoric. A new citizen Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship   1.   bs 16:02  |  thomas jefferson 12/01/08   2.   Ginsburg 17:15  |  EA 12/01/08   3.   Enlightenment 18:49  |  Gordon 12/01/08   4.   ginsburg 19:05  |  bill rohrabaugh 12/01/08   5.   And What Is Wrong With The ACLU # 4? Be Specific! 19:58  |  Eli 12/01/08   6.   congratulations Ruth Bader Ginsburg 20:02  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 12/01/08   7.   perhaps it signals Jews lack of identity 20:06  |  Another Jew 12/01/08   8.   RBG 20:21  |  Steve 12/01/08   9.   re #4 `ginsburg` 21:23  |  Colin Wright 12/01/08   10.   Ginsburg - A Good Supreme 21:33  |  Mark of Lewiston 12/01/08   11.   #4 Bill & #5 Eli - I agree, ACLU is great organization 22:53  |  Rick 12/01/08   12.   how can she be so dishonest 00:31  |  edgar 13/01/08   13.   how can she be so dishonest 00:31  |  edgar 13/01/08   14.   ACLU True Supporters of the Constitution 00:59  |  de d 13/01/08   15.   "Jewish" is a religion? 08:06  |  Israel_is_Done 13/01/08   16.   Jews in America 17:32  |  Jim 14/01/08

Today Online Sources: Barak and settlers reach deal on outpost evacuations Responses: 105 Haaretz probe: Shin Bet count of civilian deaths in Gaza is low Responses: 98 Akiva Eldar: We must strengthen Abbas, not invade Gaza Responses: 28 Zvi Bar'el: The Arabs should stop whining Responses: 40 AJ Congress slams 'Ms'. for rejecting ad on top Israeli women Responses: 33 Rosner's Domain Obama "will be the friend we want in the White House" Do we really want more people to read Ms.? (WTR) Poll: Does Bush still placing the promotion of democracy at the top of his agenda? Iranian's threaten, the candidates threaten back Rosner's Guest: The Jews are best prepared for a "flat world" More Headlines 17:37 Olmert says opposes IDF Gaza onslaught for now 16:39 Netanyahu urges Shas, Yisrael Beiteinu to quit government 17:14 Peres: Chance for talks will be lost if we wait till all sides ready 14:36 At peak of cold front, electricity demand may reach all-time high 17:19 Democrats woo Jewish, minority vote as primaries heat up 15:55 Israeli delegations land in Namibia to identify plane crash victims 15:00 Court rules alleged U.S. pedophile Mondrowitz must stay in custody 14:32 Suspect in grisly Haifa-area murder remanded for 10 days 13:26 University presidents meet on possible cancelation of the semester 13:26 Number of Palestinians crossing into Jordan from West Bank up 20% Previous Editions Select Day 13 jan 11 jan 10 jan 09 jan 08 jan 07 jan 06 jan 04 jan 03 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec

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