Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg donates to Israeli coexistence group

Hand in Hand is to receive $9,000, one-third of the funds from an award given to Justice Ginsburg by the Jewish Culture in Sweden organization. 

By World Israel News Staff

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has decided to donate funds from an award that she recently received to three organizations, including Hand in Hand: the Center for Jewish-Arab-Education in Israel, which, as described by Justice Ginsburg, operates “in schools in which Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens learn together, play together, develop close friendships and cultural understanding.”

The Supreme Court justice received the 2019 Gilel Storch Award from the organization known as Judisk kultur i Sverige (Jewish Culture in Sweden). She accepted the award at a ceremony in Stockholm in May.

Speaking of the Israeli schools in which Hand to Hand operates, Ginsberg said in her acceptance speech that “from the earliest grades, the children are taught to speak, read, and write in Hebrew and in Arabic. They learn of the shared values of Jews, Muslims, and Christians, among them, helping others, welcoming guests, opposing oppression, and caring for the earth.”

She said that she had asked Jewish Culture in Sweden “to divide the Storch Award this year among a few recipients…seeking to repair tears in our societies, to reduce intolerance and promote understanding.”

The award reportedly is worth the equivalent of $27,000, meaning that Hand in Hand would receive $9,000.

Another organization cited by the Supreme Court justice was Order of the Teaspoon, “launched here in Stockholm in 2006,” she told the audience at the award ceremony. “Teaspoon begins with children and their teachers, aiming to spread appreciation of the dignity of each individual to promote respect of all humankind and to oppose intolerance.”

She said that she would also choose an organization in the U.S. which strives “to put down the ugliness in our midst and to foster democracy, equality, and decency.”

Hand in Hand said it was “thrilled” by Ginsburg’s gesture.

“We are humbled by the Justice’s beautiful words about our students,” said the organization, praising Ginsberg as someone who “has fought her entire career for equality, civil rights, and democracy, and this award credits her lifelong commitment to enshrining these values in the American legal system.”

“We feel incredibly honored that Justice Ginsburg wished to include Hand in Hand in this distinction,” said Hand in Hand.