Newsweek: Opinion: Stop excluding Jews from California juries
The Jewish community of California has received ample attention of late regarding the death penalty in California. Most prominently, revelations recently came to light that Jews were routinely excluded from serving as jurors in cases where the death penalty was being sought in California's Alameda County.
When it comes to the death penalty, Jews are of mixed opinions. Consequently, while the natural assumption that excluding Jewish jurors on capital cases might be yet another insidious manifestation of antisemitism, many consider it a compliment. This ostracism serves as a recognition of how Jewish values for fairness inherently conflict with a criminal justice system that is inherently unfair. It denotes a realization of the natural Jewish inclination within its laws and teachings to err on the side of caution. It belies an understanding of the Jewish penchant to question everything and to give deep introspection to matters of great importance.
For more than 2,000 years, Jewish law (Halacha) has allowed for the death penalty while at the same time creating insurmountable hurdles to ensure that an execution according to the law never happens. Contemporary U.S. law comes nowhere near meeting the safeguards insisted upon by the Torah and rabbinic interpretation of scripture. This is one of the main reasons why Jews are almost always involved in leadership in campaigns to halt executions and repeal death penalty laws.
Of note, this de facto barring of Jews is also incredibly problematic because it assumes that someone who is Jewish cannot apply secular law fairly if it conflicts with one's interpretation of Jewish law. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is one observant Californian Jew who recently disproved this assumption in a manner just as noteworthy as the revelation of California Jewish juror exclusion.