JERUSALEM -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has received a lifetime achievement award from a prominent Jewish organization.
Ginsburg, 85, cited Holocaust diarist Anne Frank among others in a speech at Wednesday's ceremony in Tel Aviv that touched on her fight for women's rights and quoted from Jewish traditions and history. She has served on the Supreme Court since 1993 and is the second female justice.
Ginsburg quoted from a statement she gave years ago when she was asked about how her Jewish heritage fits together with her occupation as a judge.
"I am a judge, born raised and proud of being a Jew. The demand for justice, for peace, for enlightenment runs through the entirety of Jewish history and Jewish tradition," she said. "I hope that in all the years I continue ... on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States I will have the strength and courage to remain steadfast in service of that demand."
The Genesis Prize Foundation noted Ginsburg's "groundbreaking legal work in the field of civil liberties and women's rights" when it announced the winner in November. The foundation sponsors the annual Genesis Prize -- an award informally known as the Jewish Nobel.
The prize recognizes Jewish achievement and contributions to humanity. Previous recipients include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Michael Douglas, violinist Itzhak Perlman and sculptor Anish Kapoor.
-- The Associated Press
Religion on 07/07/2018