January 31, 2017
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, 2017, 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.
