Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism
CT VIEWPOINTS -- opinions from around Connecticut

Jewish leaders oppose Trump’s executive order on immigration

  • CT Viewpoints
  • by Commentary by Connecticut Jewish leaders
  • February 6, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

We, the undersigned Jewish Federations throughout the State of Connecticut, along with JFACT (Jewish Federations Association of Connecticut) and the Anti-Defamation League of Connecticut, oppose President Trump’s Executive Order barring many refugees and immigrants from entering the United States.

President Trump’s Executive Order, issued on Friday, January 27, bans any refugees from entering the United States for 120 days; suspends indefinitely any Syrian refugee resettlement; and bans nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen for any reason for 90 days.

Judaism instructs, repeatedly and unambiguously, that we are forbidden from oppressing the stranger. The Bible states no less than 36 separate times that we are obligated to care for the stranger in our society. Leviticus 19:34, as one example, teaches: “The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Both Jewish values and Jewish historical experience as immigrants and refugees mandate that we repudiate policies that demonize, ostracize, and leave stranded refugees and other vulnerable immigrants. We remember all too well the story of the St. Louis—of Jewish refugees fleeing Europe by ship on the eve of the Holocaust who were denied entry into the U.S. and sent back, many to their deaths.

We cannot and will not stand idly by as today’s victims of war and terror are left helpless and isolated. Nor can we support policies that single out those who practice a certain religion—in this case Islam—for disproportionate treatment.

While we encourage efforts to increase American security, this Executive Order threatens to do the opposite. The Executive Order likely will provide material to further incite radical Islamists against the United States and certainly has alienated the allies we need to defeat them.

We therefore stand with the numerous national Jewish organizations —including the leadership of the Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox Movements, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the ADL, and HIAS— who have voiced strenuous concern about this Executive Order.

We also specifically affirm our commitment to stand with our friends and neighbors in the Muslim community who are rightfully concerned with the implications this ban will have on their loved ones. America should continue to live up to its reputation as a safe haven for people fleeing religious persecution, civil war, terror, and other atrocities in their native countries and in need of refuge.

Faced with the largest global refugee crisis of our time, the United States must continue to be a beacon of freedom, safety, and hope.

Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven
Judy Alperin Diamondstein, CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford
Susannah MacNeil, Associate Vice President
Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut
Romana Strochlitz Primus, President
Jerry Fischer, CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien
Rebekah Raz, VP, and Peter Lilienthal, Chair, JCRC
Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien
Rebekah Raz, VP, and Peter Lilienthal, Chair, JCRC
Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut
Jade Stoltz, Executive Director
Jewish Federations Association of Connecticut (JFACT)
Sydney Perry, Interim Executive Director
Anti-Defamation League of Connecticut
Andy Friedland, Assistant Regional Director

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Right to counsel is just as much a racial justice issue as a housing policy issue
by Pearson Caldwell

Despite the state and federal moratoriums on eviction, nearly 3,000 Connecticut families have faced eviction in the past 10 months. Over half of these families were Black or Latinx, even though these groups combined comprise less than a quarter of the overall population. The stop-gap measures pursued by the state are not enough. Connecticut needs a statewide right to counsel for tenants facing eviction to address the burning housing and racial justice crisis across the state.

We need justice, not politics
by Richard J. Colangelo Jr. and 13 State's Attorneys

The administration of justice should not be political. Prosecutors must be guided by the evidence in a case and the applicable law, not by partisan, political considerations. Political pressure should never sway a prosecutor’s decision-making.

Assisted suicide lobby spreads falsehoods to promote systemic ableism
by Stephen Mendelsohn

Proponents of assisted suicide repeatedly spread falsehoods to promote their lethal and ableist agenda.  The February 8 op-ed, “Aid in dying is not assisted suicide” is no exception. Suicide is defined as the act of taking one’s life intentionally.  The person who intentionally ingests a prescribed lethal overdose more closely fits the dictionary definition of suicide than the despondent person who jumps off a bridge.  The desire for suicide is a cry for help, even when redefined as a “medical treatment option.”

TCI will create a fourth gasoline tax
by Christian A. Herb

The Transportation Climate Initiative, or TCI, calls for a proposed emissions fee on gasoline to help battle climate change. On the surface, supporters say it is a small price to pay to help save the planet; and if you truly believe that this is the case, then you should consider voting for it. Despite the administration’s efforts to go out of their way to not call TCI a tax, the simple truth is that it will only create additional financial hardships on lower- and middle-income families struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.

Let’s keep telehealth when the pandemic ends
by Steven Madonick, MD

Telehealth may lead to positive, even transformational changes in psychiatric care, and Connecticut needs to keep it after the pandemic. Connecticut needs to pass the necessary laws to continue telehealth and telephonic care.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Right to counsel is just as much a racial justice issue as a housing policy issue
by Pearson Caldwell

Despite the state and federal moratoriums on eviction, nearly 3,000 Connecticut families have faced eviction in the past 10 months. Over half of these families were Black or Latinx, even though these groups combined comprise less than a quarter of the overall population. The stop-gap measures pursued by the state are not enough. Connecticut needs a statewide right to counsel for tenants facing eviction to address the burning housing and racial justice crisis across the state.

Opinion We need justice, not politics
by Richard J. Colangelo Jr. and 13 State's Attorneys

The administration of justice should not be political. Prosecutors must be guided by the evidence in a case and the applicable law, not by partisan, political considerations. Political pressure should never sway a prosecutor’s decision-making.

Opinion Assisted suicide lobby spreads falsehoods to promote systemic ableism
by Stephen Mendelsohn

Proponents of assisted suicide repeatedly spread falsehoods to promote their lethal and ableist agenda.  The February 8 op-ed, “Aid in dying is not assisted suicide” is no exception. Suicide is defined as the act of taking one’s life intentionally.  The person who intentionally ingests a prescribed lethal overdose more closely fits the dictionary definition of suicide than the despondent person who jumps off a bridge.  The desire for suicide is a cry for help, even when redefined as a “medical treatment option.”

Opinion TCI will create a fourth gasoline tax
by Christian A. Herb

The Transportation Climate Initiative, or TCI, calls for a proposed emissions fee on gasoline to help battle climate change. On the surface, supporters say it is a small price to pay to help save the planet; and if you truly believe that this is the case, then you should consider voting for it. Despite the administration’s efforts to go out of their way to not call TCI a tax, the simple truth is that it will only create additional financial hardships on lower- and middle-income families struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO