“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.”
-Exodus 23:9
It is with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our means, that we, those affiliated with Kadima Reconstructionist Jewish Community of Seattle condemn the executive orders taken this week which effectively close our borders to Muslims, DACA recipients, and flagrantly violate America’s longstanding, values-driven commitment to serving as a safe haven for refugees. We likewise oppose any attempts to impose a “values test” on prospective immigrants as a backdoor method of screening on the basis of religion. Our tradition tells us of Abraham and Sarah as they welcomed three unknown travelers into their home modeling h achnasat orchim--welcoming guests--which the Talmud declared to be even more important than speaking to God.1 We join Jews around the world in condemning these acts having not forgotten our history, renewing our commitment, and anchoring ourselves in our interconnections to all.
As Americans, we take pride in the fact that immigration and resulting cultural diversity are fundamental sources of our country’s vitality. We further regard respect for the human rights of all people as a fundamental responsibility that we all share.
We are proud that the Mayor, the City Council of Seattle and the County Council of Martin Luther King Jr County have designated our city and county as sanctuaries with respect to US immigration enforcement.
We strongly support the right and responsibility of cities and counties to deploy their limited resources to support the well-being of residents – both citizens and non-citizens, documented or undocumented -- rather than to fulfill the responsibilities of the federal agencies.
In the same spirit we oppose the conspicuous waste of US national resources in building a border wall to impede the currently non-existent net flow of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
Accordingly we strenuously oppose the anti-immigrant and anti-sanctuary policies of the Trump Administration and their expression in today’s Executive Orders.
1 We join with T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights in their statement.
-Exodus 23:9
It is with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our means, that we, those affiliated with Kadima Reconstructionist Jewish Community of Seattle condemn the executive orders taken this week which effectively close our borders to Muslims, DACA recipients, and flagrantly violate America’s longstanding, values-driven commitment to serving as a safe haven for refugees. We likewise oppose any attempts to impose a “values test” on prospective immigrants as a backdoor method of screening on the basis of religion. Our tradition tells us of Abraham and Sarah as they welcomed three unknown travelers into their home modeling h achnasat orchim--welcoming guests--which the Talmud declared to be even more important than speaking to God.1 We join Jews around the world in condemning these acts having not forgotten our history, renewing our commitment, and anchoring ourselves in our interconnections to all.
As Americans, we take pride in the fact that immigration and resulting cultural diversity are fundamental sources of our country’s vitality. We further regard respect for the human rights of all people as a fundamental responsibility that we all share.
We are proud that the Mayor, the City Council of Seattle and the County Council of Martin Luther King Jr County have designated our city and county as sanctuaries with respect to US immigration enforcement.
We strongly support the right and responsibility of cities and counties to deploy their limited resources to support the well-being of residents – both citizens and non-citizens, documented or undocumented -- rather than to fulfill the responsibilities of the federal agencies.
In the same spirit we oppose the conspicuous waste of US national resources in building a border wall to impede the currently non-existent net flow of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
Accordingly we strenuously oppose the anti-immigrant and anti-sanctuary policies of the Trump Administration and their expression in today’s Executive Orders.
1 We join with T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights in their statement.
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