Israel Ruby was an American attorney and politician who served on the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

from 1926 to 1934 and was a Judge of the Williamstown District Court from 1937 to 1952.

Early life

Ruby attended Boston public schools,

The English High School The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...

, and

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North C ...

. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1913. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Ruby was denied enlistment to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

and instead was active in the

Liberty bond A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of finan ...

program and the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...

. He was also a longtime basketball and football referee and served as secretary-treasurer of the New England Basketball Officials' Association. A Zionist, Ruby raised funds for the reconstruction of Jewish settlements destroyed in the

1929 Palestine riots The 1929 Palestine riots, Buraq Uprising ( ar, ثورة البراق, ) or the Events of 1929 ( he, מאורעות תרפ"ט, , ''lit.'' Events of 5689 Anno Mundi), was a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 in which a longst ...

Politics

In 1925, the first year the Boston City Council switched from at-large to district representation, Ruby was elected to represent Ward 14. In 1933, Ruby, then the most senior member of the council not to have served as president, ran for council president. The first vote was taken on January 3. Ruby led on the first ballot, receiving seven votes. On the second ballot, Joseph McGrath took the lead with 8 votes to Ruby's 6, with 8 councilors voting for other candidates. The council remained deadlocked for weeks and Ruby threw his support behind Joseph Cox. Ruby believed that his candidacy had failed because of

Antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. In the 1933 election, Ruby finished third behind Maurice M. Goldman and Bernard Finkelstein. He was one of 8 councilors to lose reelection that year.

Judiciary

In 1937, outgoing Governor

James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterized ...

appointed Ruby to be a special justice of the Williamstown District Court. In 1938, Governor

Charles F. Hurley Charles Francis Hurley (November 24, 1893 – March 24, 1946) was an American attorney and the 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and one of its first Irish-American governors. Early years Charles Francis Hurley was born in Cambri ...

promoted him to presiding justice. In 1950, Ruby was accused of unethical conduct and

W. Arthur Garrity Jr. Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr. (June 20, 1920 – September 16, 1999) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts notable for issuing the 1974 order in ''Morgan v. Hennigan'' which mandated ...

was appointed as a special prosecutor. On January 8, 1951,

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

justice Edward A. Counihan sustained three of the charges against Ruby and disbarred him. The sustained charges were that Ruby had asked for $25 from a defendant in a gambling case, had solicited divorce business from the bench, and offered to "cinch" an eviction case for a landlord if he loaned him $200 or $300. Although he was disbarred, Ruby was allowed to remain on the bench, as Massachusetts law does not require a judge to be a member of the bar. On April 2, 1952, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld Ruby's disbarment. On April 30, 1952, the Massachusetts Bar Association filed a request for Ruby's impeachment with the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

. The following day, Ruby resigned. Ruby died on September 7, 1983, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was 95 years old. At the time of his death, Ruby was a resident of

Longmeadow, Massachusetts Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby, Israel 1983 deaths American Zionists Boston City Council members Disbarred Massachusetts lawyers Jewish American people in Massachusetts politics Massachusetts Republicans Massachusetts District Court judges Northeastern University alumni Politicians from Boston Lawyers from Boston People from Dorchester, Boston People from Longmeadow, Massachusetts