The United States has a new Attorney General. He has yet to be confirmed by congress but the word is that he is broadly respected by members of both political parties. This is truly a ‘win’ for the President. He has certainly had his share of problems of late. Especially when it comes to choosing good people for key positions in his administration.The last Attorney General being a case in point. I personally believe that Gonzales was a victim of politics and that his errors would have normally been overlooked. But in the current political climate in Washington, nothing is going to get a pass from the President’s political enemies.
This makes the appointment of the Honorable Michael Mukasey as the new Attorney General of the United States… and the positive reaction to him all the more significant.
No he is not Irish. That’s what I thought when I first heard his name. He is in fact Jewish. And he is Frum… a Torah Observant Jew who is a member in good standing of an Orthodox Shul. What an honor it is for Judaism. And what a Kiddush HaShem. Here is a man who rose to the top of his profession without sacrificing his beliefs. (Kind of reminds me of Senator Joseph Lieberman.) I couldn’t feel prouder of one of my co-religionists.
The following has apparently appeared in the Kehilath Jeshurun Bulletin. It was forwarded to me by my good friend Steve Katz. I would only add my own public congratulations to Mr. Mukasey, his family and the entire Jewish community:
What a privilege it is for us to be able to honor the Hon. Michael Mukasey, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.An alumnus of Ramaz, class of 1959, Judge Mukasey received his B.A. from Columbia in 1963 and an LL.B. degree from Yale Law School in 1967.
A recipient of an honorary doctorate from Brooklyn Law School, he also won the Federal Bar Council's Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. Judge Mukasey served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division for the Southern District of New York and was a partner in Patterson, Belknap, Webb, & Tyler until his appointment to the federal bench in November, 1987. He also presently serves as Adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia Law School.
His wife, Susan, served Ramaz for 25 years with great distinction as a teacher and then as Headmistress of the Lower School. His children, Marc and Jessica, are both alumni of the school and he is the proud grandfather of two grandsons, William and Benjamin, born to Jessica and Corey Barkoff.
His wife, Susan, served Ramaz for 25 years with great distinction as a teacher and then as Headmistress of the Lower School. His children, Marc and Jessica, are both alumni of the school and he is the proud grandfather of two grandsons, William and Benjamin, born to Jessica and Corey Barkoff.
As will be apparent from our presentation of him on Shemini Atzeret, it is particularly gratifying for Kehilath Jeshurun to honor this outstanding jurist and heroic, American Jew. He and his family have made sacrifices for their commitment to America and to Judaism on a level reached by very few. It is our honor to honor him.
