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Two Jewish Justices: Outcasts in the Promised Land
Unread. Pages clean, unread; binding strong and tight. Cover has shelfwear, rubbing.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1988
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March 28, 2012
I first heard of this book from Rabbi Berel Wein who used it in his research for the lecture series, "Jewish Political Intrigue." Lucky for me, I didn't get around to actually reading it until after I'd begun paralegal studies and gotten familiar with reading court opinions. It also helped that I'd seen the excellent PBS series on the Supreme Court.
The book is a comparison on the first and third Jewish Supreme Court Justices, namely, Louis Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter. Rather than labeling them "liberal" and "conservative," the author characterizes their worldviews as advocacy for the outsider versus identification with the insider. It also compares their attitudes toward their own status as Jews. Brandeis, though not raised religious, was a leader in the Zionist movement, while Frankfurter, who was born in Europe and raised Orthodox, shed all of that in order to become an "insider," a status the author states he never quite achieved. But in fairness, for all his defense of the insiders, Frankfurter was a member of the unanimous court that ended segregation. (Brandeis had already passed away by then.)
From a Jewish perspective, the most interesting chapter is the very last one. But the book is a survey of Supreme Court history as much as it is a biography of its two main subjects. So if you read this book, watch that PBS series on the Supreme Court. It will make the experience of reading this book that much richer.
The book is a comparison on the first and third Jewish Supreme Court Justices, namely, Louis Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter. Rather than labeling them "liberal" and "conservative," the author characterizes their worldviews as advocacy for the outsider versus identification with the insider. It also compares their attitudes toward their own status as Jews. Brandeis, though not raised religious, was a leader in the Zionist movement, while Frankfurter, who was born in Europe and raised Orthodox, shed all of that in order to become an "insider," a status the author states he never quite achieved. But in fairness, for all his defense of the insiders, Frankfurter was a member of the unanimous court that ended segregation. (Brandeis had already passed away by then.)
From a Jewish perspective, the most interesting chapter is the very last one. But the book is a survey of Supreme Court history as much as it is a biography of its two main subjects. So if you read this book, watch that PBS series on the Supreme Court. It will make the experience of reading this book that much richer.
Displaying 1 of 1 review