The New Jewish Justice

President Barack Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the seat on the US Supreme Court now held by Justice John Paul Stevens, who is retiring. If confirmed ( a "slam dunk"), she will be the eighth Jew to serve on the Court and will increase the Jewish share of the Court to one-third, an all-time high. Obama, in less than two years in office, will have appointed more Jews to the Supreme Court than the last six Republican presidents combined.

Here is a brief look at the history of Jewish members of the Supreme Court:

In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson appointed prominent Jewish attorney Louis D Brandeis to the Supreme Court. At that time Jews were routinely excluded from most law firms, corporations, resorts and suburbs. This appointment showed the Jews that the Democratic Party was especially favorable to their ambitions in American politics.

President Herbert Hoover appointed Benjamin Cardozo to the Court in 1932. After he died in 1938, President Roosevelt appointed Felix Frankfurter to the seat, which later became known as the "Jewish seat" on the Court. He was succeeded by Arthur Goldberg in 1962. When President Lyndon Johnson appointed Goldberg to be the US Ambassador the to UN in 1965, Johnson then appointed Abe Fortas to the seat. However, Fortas was forced to resign in 1969.

Then the "Jewish seat" vanished as President Richard Nixon nominated one gentile after another to fill the seat until finally Harry Blackmun was confirmed. (1)

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan nominated Jewish federal judge Douglas H Ginsburg to succeed Justice Lewis Powell, but the nomination was withdrawn after it was revealed that Ginsburg had been smoking marijuana.

Both current Jewish Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were appointed by President Bill Clinton .

Could the need to placate Jewish voters (and donors) before the 2010 congressional elections have been a factor in the selection of Elena Kagan? While Jews were more supportive of Barack Obama for President than any other white (non-Hispanic) ethnic group in 2008, many have turned against him over his hostility towards Israel. For example, publishers Mort Zuckerman (US News & World Report and NY Daily News) and Martin Peretz (The New Republic) both endorsed Obama for President, but have soured on him over Israel.

Although Jews comprise less than 3 percent of the US population, they vote and participate in politics at a higher rate than other ethnic groups. Morevoer, they are concentrated in big states in which the two major parties are highly competitive. For instance, this year the Jewish vote will be crucial in senate races in New York and Florida.(2) Jews can also tip the balance in a number of suburban congressional districts. That is also why Republicans will not filibuster the Kagan nomination: GOP senators from swing states will not dare antagonize their Jewish constituents. Whatever votes are cast against confirmation will be from hard-core Republican states in which the Jewish vote is insignificant.

Some will complain that Kagan has no judicial experience, but if Obama wanted a Jewish woman with that experience he might well have picked Judge Judith Scheindlin. Her confirmation hearings would have made great TV!

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(1) Tapes of his conversations prove that Nixon disliked American Jews, except for Henry Kissinger. His first choice to succeed Fortas was Clement Haynsworth, who was rejected by the Senate. His second choice, Harold G Carswell, was also rejected. Blackmun had no problem.

(2) Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is also facing a tough race, but since he is Jewish himself I believe he would garner the Jewish vote anyway. Since the Florida race features three serious candidates, even a small group can make a big difference!