Life

Young Jewish Woman Questions Trump’s Supreme Court Pick

Neil Gorsuch gets comfortable. Image by Getty Images

By Phoebe Maltz Bovy February 2, 2017

On Bustle, Leanne Gale, who is (her words) “a young Jewish feminist organizer,” explains why her identity and family history have led her to oppose Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch:

“[A]s a Jewish woman, I see him as a direct threat to my bodily autonomy and religious liberty. Gorsuch is known to be anti-choice, and has ruled against the right of every person to access birth control. No politician, employer, or healthcare provider should be able to deny me or any person access to basic healthcare, including abortion and contraception, just because they have a different religious viewpoint.”

If you find yourself thinking Gale speaks only of young women’s concerns, and that older Jewish women take different messages from history, think again:

“Just the other night, I spoke with my grandmother on the phone about our long-perished relatives in Poland. She sounded terrified, utterly appalled by Trump’s targeting of refugees and Muslims.”

Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at bovy@forward.com. Her book, The Perils of “Privilege”, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a former editor of the Sisterhood blog at the Forward. Her writing has appeared in several publications, including The New Republic and The Atlantic. Her book, “The Perils of ‘Privilege,’” was published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017. She has a PhD in French and French Studies from New York University, and has read a lot of 19th century French Jewish newspapers for a 21st century American.

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