NEW YORK — Today, T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization that represents over 2,000 rabbis and cantors and their communities, released the following statement congratulating Representative Rabbi Ed Stafman on joining the Montana state legislature this month. Representative Stafman is an ordained rabbi and a member of T’ruah. He is the first rabbi elected to the state legislature in Montana and one of the few ever elected to a state legislature in the country.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah, released the following statement:
“We congratulate Representative Stafman on his historic election to the Montana legislature.
“Representative Stafman’s career has been guided by a belief in justice and compassion, first as a civil rights attorney fighting for victims of race, gender, and handicap discrimination, as well as working people, tenants, and labor unions, and later as an ordained rabbi serving the Bozeman community. He will bring a moral voice to the Montana legislature as he works to address the climate crisis, strengthen public health and public schools, and support working families. The ancient rabbis taught, “anyone who is appointed to leadership over a community becomes a servant to that community.” (Yalkut Shimoni I Kings 12, Remez 196) Representative Stafman has taken on this responsibility to be of service to the people of Montana. We wish him much strength and success in this sacred endeavor.”
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights mobilizes a network of more than 2,000 rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism that, together with the Jewish community, act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.