Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amy Schumer and Bibi Make Time 100 List

Image by Getty Images

By Anne Cohen April 16, 2015

Ruth Bader, Diane von Furstenberg, Benjamin Netanyahu and Jill Soloway

What do Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jill Soloway and Ina Garten have in common? They’re all in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list. And they’re all Jewish.

The tribe made quite a showing this year, with 16 spots in various categories.

Our favorite and most notorious Supreme Court justice was praised by colleague and frenemy Antonin Scalia, who wrote: “I can attest that her opinions are always thoroughly considered, always carefully crafted and almost always correct (which is to say we sometimes disagree). That much is apparent for all to see.

Ehud Barack waxed poetic about Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “I knew Bibi, decades ago, as a soldier and young officer under my command facing real fire. He was determined, effective and focused. Character does not change. Chickensh-t he is not.”

Ewan McGregor, who was apparently just as obsessed with “Serial” as you were, wrote this about its host: “Sarah Koenig talked to me in the bath, in the kitchen and in the subway, and although I knew there were plenty of others listening—the series has been downloaded more than 80 million times—she had an uncanny knack for making me feel like she was talking just to me.”

Jewish funnygirl Amy Schumer received a poetic tribute from actress Tilda Swinton, who wrote:

Amy’s got your back.
She’s in your corner.
She’s an honesty bomb.
And she’s coming for you.

Also on the list: Diane von Furstenberg, described by Jessica Alba as someone who used fashion to “transform our reality;” “Transparent” creator Jill Soloway; Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen; “Good Wife” actress Julianna Margulies; “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels; Reid Hoffman; chef Danny Meyer; Air BnB founder Brian Chesky; U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power; NBA commissioner Adam Silver; Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger; and, of course, Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO