Jewry's Role in
Human Affairs

GREAT JURISTS OF OUR TIME

/–)

were Jewish, whereas today, 55 to 60
ers — 10,460 of them Michiganders
percent of travelers to Israel are not
— visited Israel.
Jewish, Shen said.
The Northeast, which includes
The IMTNA is expecting that the
New York and New Jersey, makes up
number
of non-Jews who visit Israel
nearly 40 percent of the travel to
will
increase
because of the 2,000th
Israel. The northeast region also has
anniversary of the birth of Jesus.
16 of the 21 El-Al flights to Israel this
"We are already starting programs
season, and 24 of the 36 in the sum-
with tour operators and advertising
mer from New York's Kennedy Air-
for the year 2000," said Shen. "It will
/-' port, Newark and Baltimore-Washing-
be marketed to everyone, but a lot to
ton International.
non-Jews."
"There are 9 million people cross-
ing the Atlantic annually," said Yehu-
da Shen, deputy commissioner for the
IMTNA. "Over 400,000 of them are
coming to Israel this year. By 1999,
the number of people who come to
Israel from America will be back to
, the 1995 levels, if not stronger."
The size of the northeast region is
why New York and New Jersey are the
numbers one and three target markets
for the IMTNA, Shen said. Illinois is
the highest-ranking Midwest state, at
fifth, and in the south, Texas is a big
target.
The age of the travelers to Israel is
"Texas is strong because there is an
dominated largely by the 30- to 54-
evangelical angle and it's right in the
heart of the Bible Belt," he said. "[The year old age bracket, which make up
40 percent. Travelers over 65 equal 22
Midwest] only has Bible buckles."
percent of tourists, and the 55-64
Going after non-Jewish business
group comprise 20 percent of the
has shifted the religious makeup of
total. The under-21 group makes up
tourists to Israel. Thirty years ago,
the remaining 16 percent. ❑
more than 70 percent of the tourists

More than
400,000
American tourists
will visit Israel
this year.

-

50th birthday, but I think the sum-
mer looks good."
The slowing in the numbers of
tourists translating into a number
of struggling businesses.
At the end of January, business
was hurting," said Loebl of her last
trip to Israel. "Wailing Wall was
empty on Erev Shabbat, and Ben
Yeliuda Street was empty also. As a
Zionist, I'm personally sad when
tourism is down."
Lynn Koppinger, the resident
sales m.anager for El-Al in Michigan,
said more publicity is needed.

ont think
enough that
Al's 50th anniversaries she sai
'There vtll be a lot of ctal everts'
in Israel th •
"The:
encouraging, and wit
ations going, I expe l w trek
up.

Acd

regional manager for the Mlwi4t,
flights out of Chicago are fu
any recional Jewish federation
have been scheduling trips to Israe l
for 50th anniversary celebrations.

Tourism to Israel; according to the Israel Ministry of Tourism North
America in Chicago.

From the Midwest:

61,534

From Michigan:
1994

8,083

1995

1996

1992

76,400

74,000

73,000

1995.

1926

1992

10,460

10,315

10,220

At the turn of the century, American urban centers, as well as smaller cities
and towns, were building civic institutions to serve their growing and
complex communities. Attorneys and judges were needed but were too few
in number to meet demands. Living in a democracy ruled by law was new
to typical immigrant families. In some cases it brought comfort to find
their American-educated children entering the field of law to claim a stake
in their country's future and promise.
The practice of law, as a springboard to judicial and legislative
office, was a magnet for many Jewish aspirants, and America's legal system
has been well served by their presence. No higher calling is the elevation
to the U.S. Supreme Court, and to this date, seven have donned the robes
of associate justices in whose hands Constitutional rule and the very life of
our pluralistic system firmly rest. Among the most prominent were:
LOUIS BRANDEIS
(1856-1941) b. Louisville, KY The first Jew on
the High Court was earlier known as the "people's
attorney," a compassionate and formidable
champion of the rights of individuals threatened
by commercial and business interests in our
rapidly industrializing nation. Graduating Harvard
Law School at the head of his class (1877),
Brandeis took on cases that curtailed monopolistic
practices and protected employees against worktime and wage abuses.
After appointment to the court by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, the
justice continued to help "remold economic practices and institutions to
meet changing social and economic needs" through his decisions. In his
crusade against the "curse of bigness," he often joined his likeminded
colleague, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in decisions that curbed the
excessive powers of insurance companies, railroads and utilities which
clashed with the public interest. Brandeis further became a staunch and
loyal supporter of F.D.R.'s New Deal legislation.
BENJAMIN CARDOZO
(1870-1938) b. New York City Twenty-two
years in legal practice and eventual election as
chief judge of New York State's Court of Appeals
(1927), confirmed a special quality in the quiet and
gentle "lawyer's lawyer": his intellectual prowess
and skills at simplifying the rules of law to have
them realistically respond to social needs and
issues. Throughout his judicial career, Cardozo
was noted for original thinking and the eloquence and literary style of his
briefs and opinions. Although Cardozo was ranked as a liberal jurist,
conservative President Herbert Hoover recognized his judicial integrity and
legal knowledge when naming him to the Supreme Court in 1932. In
alliance with Brandeis, Cardozo stood behind the great majority of laws
enacted during President Roosevelt's New Deal period. Chief Justice
Hughes had said of him: "No judge ever came to this court more fully
equipped by learning, acumen, dialectical skill and disinterested purpose."
4 ....;x5 - • -
FELIX FRANKFURTER
(1882-1965) b. Vienna, Austria Extending the
liberal tradition established by his friends on the
bench, Justices Holmes, Brandeis and Cardozo, the
former Harvard Law School professor was a
founder of the American Civil-Liberties Union in
1920. He was also among our most scholarly
jurists; his tenure on the High Court (1939-62)--to
which he was appointed by Franklin. D. Roosevelt-
was productive and memorable. Frankfurter helped formulate progressive
labor laws and vigorously defended the powers assumed by local
governments and lower courts. He had once served as President Woodrow
Wilson's advisor at the Paris Peace Conference and later as counselor to
F. D.R. while governor of New York State and later in the White House.
Frankfurter was closely associated with the Zionist movement throughout
the years, and shortly before his death was presented with the coveted Medal
of Freedom by President John F. Kennedy. Many opinions of the
persuasive proponent of judicial restraint are often quoted as legal
precedents to this day.
- Saul Stadunauer

COMMISSION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF JEWISH HISTORY
Walter & Lea Field, Founders/Sponsors
Harold Berry & Irwin S. Field, Co-chairmen
Harriet F. Siden, Secretary

5/1
1998

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