“We were devastated to learn about the loss of Justice Ginsburg,” The Jewish Federations of North America tweeted. “She was an example of talent and achievement, a source of inspiration not just for Jews but for people of all faiths and ethnicities across America.”
“Her careful and methodical litigation for gender equality – a category that barely existed before she envisioned it – alone, would put her in the first ranks of the American legal profession,” the American Jewish Committee (AJC) said in a statement.
“Beyond the positions she took and the precisely reasoned opinions she wrote, her dedication to the cause of law and justice was legendary. Neither illness nor family tragedy could deter her from performing her duties as a judge and, later, a justice.”
“Her friendships across ideological lines – most notably with Scalia – were an all-too-rare exception in an otherwise polarized Washington,” AJC added.
B’nai B’rith said in a statement: “The announcement of [Ginsburg’s] death as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, began, seems especially poignant... She was a giant of the Supreme Court, a champion to many women and others as a strong, progressive voice on the court with a trailblazing judicial presence.”
The Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Women of Reform Judaism wrote that few people have had as long or as profound an impact upon the course of a nation as did Ginsburg. “As an attorney, Justice Ginsburg committed herself to advance women’s rights at a time when women were denied equal access to educational, employment, economic, and other opportunities,” their statement read.
“Such injustice offended Justice Ginsburg as a woman, but also as a Jew. Indeed, she spoke often of the many ways in which her Jewish upbringing and faith shaped her sense of justice, including the discrimination against Jews that was part of life even in her native New York City during her formative years.”
Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, tweeted: “Justice Ginsburg never wavered in upholding and advancing women’s constitutional rights, including abortion, and we will do everything in our power to ensure her legacy is honored.”
The progressive group J Street tweeted that “if this year has taught us anything, it’s how to mourn as we fight and fight as we mourn.”
“[Ginsburg’s] memory shall be a blessing and her example an inspiration as we give our all to defend our democracy.”