Merrick Garland was born and raised in Illinois by a Jewish mother who served as a community volunteer and a Protestant father who ran a small business out of the family home. He is Jewish and a member of Temple Sinai, a Reform synagogue in Washington, D.C., where both his daughters had their bat mitzvahs. Garland has credited his parents with instilling in him the desire for public service, and his Jewish tradition is one of service. During his confirmation hearing in 2021, he recounted the persecution of his family, saying that his family members were the victims of religious persecution in Europe, and two of his grandmother’s siblings were murdered in the Holocaust. If confirmed by Congress, he would become the fourth Jewish Supreme Court Justice, alongside Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elana Kagan, and Stephen Breyer.