Gloria Steinem Wrote A List Called ‘Ten Ways Kavanaugh’s Victory Could Be Worse’
Gloria Steinem, Brett Kavanaugh Image by Forward Montage
Sometimes — specifically right now — it feels like things in the world couldn’t possibly be worse. And Gloria Steinem seems like the last person who would ever claim anyone should be grateful that we’re just living in a time when a president who brags about assaulting women supports a man thrice-accused sexual crimes, helping him to gain a lifelong appointment on the highest court of the land along with 51 United States senators after an incomplete FBI investigation.
And yet. The 84-year-old women rights icon has a message that should be familiar to Jews everywhere: Lo tira. Do not fear. Al tir’u. You shall not fear.
Moses says it in the Torah, and Gloria Steinem says it on Instagram. After all — things could be worse!
Following again in Moses’ footsteps by announcing things in lists of ten, Steinem laid out the way the successful confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court could be worse. A theme of the list is the women the process bullied, steamrolled and abused along the way — Steinem lists Kavanaugh’s wordless wife, female members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and women who have had or will have abortions.
The other theme of Steinem’s post is defiance. “The Supreme Court may endanger women, but it can never make women obey unjust laws,” she cautions. Steinem concludes her list by saying: Worst of all, you and I might never have had leaders like Martin Luther King, and so we would not know that, “One has the moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” But we do have such leaders, so no Court controlled by the likes of Trump or Kavanaugh will ever be Supreme.”
Imagine spearheading women’s rights activism in 1968 and rounding the corner of 80, to meet this! But Steinem’s message is clear: Don’t despair, defy.
Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.