Jewish Groups Steer Clear of Judicial Fight
So far, the National Council of Jewish Women is the only Jewish group taking up the fight over the nomination of Judge Leslie Southwick to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Southwick’s nomination has been opposed by a wide array of liberal groups, including organizations representing black and gay Americans. In one past case, Southwick, then on the Mississippi State Court of Appeals, voted to reinstate a white employee who had been fired for calling a black co-worker a “good ole n—–.”
In another, he agreed in a majority decision to remove an 8-year-old child from her bisexual mother, in a ruling that referred to the woman’s “homosexual lifestyle.” Southwick also signed another judge’s separate opinion that described homosexuality as a choice that carries consequences.
As I mentioned in my article last week, California Senator Dianne Feinstein is facing the wrath of the Congressional Black Caucus after she cast the deciding vote in favor of Southwick in the Judiciary Committee.
It will be interesting to watch if other Jewish groups on the left – most notably the Religious Action Center – continue to warm the bench on this issue when Congress returns in the fall.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
