Jewish Synagogue Group Endorses Roberts

In a move seen as somewhat unusual, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has sent a letter to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsing Supreme Court nominee John Roberts as "qualified to serve". The August 22 letter to Sen. Arlen Specter from USCJ's Public Policy Committee says that its conclusion is based on a Position Paper on Federal Judicial Nominations adopted by USCJ in June. The Paper concludes that the criteria for an acceptable judge are:

1) – be well trained, well educated and enjoy wide respect among diverse segments of society.
2) – eschew an ideologically defined approach to judicial interpretation. That is to say, a jurist should be neither an activist for change nor an unalterable opponent thereof.
3) – demonstrate in his or her past decisions a balanced respect for foundational documents, reasonable interpretation and societal realities.

The Baltimore Jewish Times today reports that this is the first time that USCJ has endorsed a Supreme Court nominee. USCJ is the parent body of Conservative synagogues in the United States and Canada.