As Amity School students, it was an utmost honor for us to host Supreme Court Justice Bruce M. Balter. Judge Balter is a graduate of Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School. He served as Acting Administrative Judge of the Supreme Court, and as Presiding Justice of the Specialized Gun Part. He was Judge of the Civil Court and a former Special State Prosecutor.
His Honor is an extremely accomplished individual, having provided many great services for the community, and we wanted him to share those experiences and his thoughts with us. His first point was knowledge. He discussed a saying which was “Reading is the key point of knowledge.” Then he added that if students do not read, they would lose all of their individual choice. The students were impressed by how well he explained the importance of reading. He told his audience that he was learning Turkish. Everyone was delightfully surprised. Then he remarked that he was learning it through reading. “It helps a lot,” he said. He emphasized again how important reading was.
When Judge Balter talked about society, his first mention was the Qur’an. He said, “Society is affected because of the Qur’an, but in a perfect way. Quran says to give zekat. It means to help other people who are in need. What a wonderful religious rule.” He also said, “Islam is a very good religion because Muslims have responsibilities for community and society.” Because Judge Balter spoke genuinely of how impressed he was by the laws of Islam, students appreciated the respect he showed towards the religion.
Following His Honor’s speech, students were allowed to pose great questions concerning things like their role in society and the role of a judge in his community. Amity students walked away from their discussion with Judge Balter with inspiration and motivation to contribute positively to their community. Amity School sincerely thanks Honorable Judge Balter for his valuable visit to the school.