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Statements
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Rabbis Condemn Israeli Government’s Plan to Deport or Jail Asylum Seekers
January 5, 2018
NEW YORK–The Israeli government announced it will force Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers to leave Israel for Rwanda, Uganda, or their countries of origin, or face indefinite jail time. T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights calls this decision immoral. A country that was founded by refugees and that played a leading role in the...
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T’ruah Responds to President’s Tweets About Cutting off Aid to Palestinians
January 3, 2018
NEW YORK – In response to President Trump’s tweets this week suggesting the U.S. cut aid to Palestine, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, issued the following statement: “Yet again, President Trump’s tweets in the past 24 hours show his reckless disregard for the lives of Israelis and...
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Rabbis Argue That U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli Capital Is Counterproductive, Serves No Purpose
December 6, 2017
NEW YORK – In response to President Trump’s announcement today that the U.S. government will move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights issued the below statement. Jerusalem has been the spiritual and political center for the Jewish people since King David established his throne...
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T’ruah Joins Jewish Organizations Urging Israel Not to Deport Asylum Seekers
November 28, 2017
Today T'ruah joined 24 other leaders of the North American Jewish community who sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging Israel not to deport African asylum seekers, but rather to let North American Jews help in addressing the issue. The letter followed the Israeli government’s announcement last week of its plans to deport tens of thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers, which include thousands of survivors of the Darfuri genocide and other victims of persecution. The text of the letter follows.
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330 Rabbis Call on Israel to Cease Arms Sales to Burma
October 31, 2017
As U.S. rabbis and cantors, we join in the recent call issued by 55 Israeli rabbis and community leaders urging the Israeli government to stop weapons sales to Burma (Myanmar) and military training services there in the face of a brutal, potentially genocidal campaign against the Rohingya minority community. We also support the members of Congress who have stepped across party lines to issue a bipartisan letter calling for the U.S. to “immediately suspend all planned training programs with Burma’s military.”
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Local Governments Must Not Abandon Free Speech to Shield Israel from Criticism
October 20, 2017
T'ruah is extremely concerned by two recent attempts to enforce state laws restricting boycotts of Israel: Dickinson, Texas required applicants for hurricane aid to sign a statement affirming that they will not participate in boycotts of Israel, and a school district in Kansas forced a math teacher to do the same before she could take part in a training program.
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Israel and U.S. Must Stop Supporting Ethnic Cleansing of Burma’s Rohingya
September 29, 2017
As U.S. rabbis and cantors, we join in the recent call issued by 55 Israeli rabbis and community leaders urging the Israeli government to stop weapons sales to Burma (Myanmar) and military training services there in the face of a brutal, potentially genocidal campaign against the Rohingya minority community. We also support the members of...
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Statement on Third Iteration of Same Muslim Ban
September 25, 2017
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights condemns in the strongest terms the new iteration of a discriminatory executive order, which continues to effectively close our borders to Muslims, and flagrantly violates America’s longstanding, values-driven commitment to serving as a safe haven for refugees and immigrants. Masked as an effort to ensure national security, this third executive order is more of the same Islamophobia that targets Muslims by reinstating the discredited vetting procedures, established after September 11, 2001, aimed at men from Muslim-majority countries. The intent of the new ban is the same as the previous bans—to keep out people from Muslim-majority countries, even from Syria and Yemen from which millions of refugees are simply seeking safe haven for their families.
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Statement on Bogus “Bedouin” Fashion Show at NY Fashion Week
September 6, 2017
The OR Movement should donate the proceeds from the auction of dresses made from Bedouin embroidery to the Laqiyia Women’s Association as compensation for misleading the women into making dresses for a cause they do not believe in. We also call on the OR Movement and JNF to end their participation in development projects that come at the expense of Bedouin citizens of Israel, like the “Hiran” project.
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T’ruah Condemns Cancellation of DACA
September 5, 2017
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights is outraged at the Trump Administration's announcement that it plans to reverse the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Torah teaches the obligation to love the immigrant, just as God loves and cares for the immigrant: “The ger (immigrant) who sojourns with you shall be like a citizen unto you, and you shall love this person as yourself, for you were gerim in the land of Egypt. I am Adonai, your God.” (Leviticus 19:34) The ancient rabbis taught that the city of Sodom was considered the epitome of evil because the residents made laws prohibiting kindness to strangers. Welcoming immigrants and strangers remains a core Jewish value, as well as an American one.