"We were Jews before we were anything else, one Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice remarked at a Democratic Jewish event in Philadelphia on October 6, 2025. The justice, then a candidate for retention election, spoke about our moral obligation to condemn antisemitism, particularly as we approached the second anniversary of October 7, 2023, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. It was a rousing Zionist speech and a call to action. But some attendees weren't thrilled."
"Several non-Jews told me the justice "shouldn't be retained if he believes that." But he protects their religious freedoms from the bench, fairly and impartially interpreting the law. His religious beliefs should be respected, too. Was that exchange antisemitic? Anti-Zionist? Is there a difference? Even Jews disagree. But most Jews do agree that antisemitism is surging - more than 55% of us experienced antisemitism in the past year - yet our subjective experiences of anti-Jewish hate are often minimized or downright dismissed."
Antisemitism is surging and often minimized, prompting calls to condemn anti-Jewish hate while debating whether criticism of Zionism constitutes antisemitism. A Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice delivered a Zionist appeal at a Democratic Jewish event, provoking pushback from some non-Jewish attendees who said he "shouldn't be retained if he believes that." The justice nevertheless protects religious freedoms impartially. Jewish identity is visible and personal: a Hebrew name identifies religious background, a grandmother survived the Holocaust, and a cousin's husband serves in the IDF. Many feel a moral obligation to preserve Holocaust memory and link Israel's 1948 founding to that history.
Read at Above the Law
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