Jewish Attorney General Garland defends himself against accusations of religious discrimination
Merrick Garland came in for hostile questioning by a Republican upset by an FBI memo, now retracted, that deemed some traditionalist Catholics ‘violent extremists’
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Sept. 20, 2023. Photo by
By Jacob Kornbluh September 20, 2023
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland grew emotional when he invoked his Jewish family background Wednesday after a Republican lawmaker accused an agency under his direction of religious discrimination.
At a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, pressed Garland about a memo released earlier this year by a whistleblower that showed the FBI was considering using churches for information and surveillance purposes, explicitly targeting groups of Catholics known as “radical traditionalists.” The FBI later withdrew and condemned the documents,
“Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists?” Van Drew asked Garland.
Garland, who grew up in the heavily Jewish Chicago suburb of Skokie with a father and a mother whose immigrant parents fled Russia to escape antisemitism and persecution in the early 1900s, responded with indignation. “The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd,” Garland said.
“We were appalled by that memo,” Garland added.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew: "Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists?"
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 20, 2023
AG Merrick Garland: "The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd." pic.twitter.com/2w37fbg39J
Van Drew repeated the allegations made in the memo and demanded a yes or no answer on whether traditional Catholics are extremists. To which Garland said, “Catholics are not extremists, no.”
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
