Washington, DC – Over 550 rabbis and cantors across the United States have signed a statement condemning the Trump Administration’s continued assault on democratic protections, American universities, and pro-Palestinian students under the guise of combating antisemitism.
The statement, backed by J Street and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, calls out the Trump administration’s cynical attempt to exploit legitimate fears of antisemitism as a pretext to “divide Americans, undermine democracy, and harm other vulnerable communities.”
Read the statement and see the signatories here.
“It’s incredibly meaningful to see so many leaders in our community speaking out. As Jewish Americans who have been such great beneficiaries of America’s liberal democratic values, we have a special responsibility to sound the alarm, especially when the administration is claiming to do this on our behalf,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “Our history and our values compel us to act in this moment of crisis, and together we must stiffen the spines of everyone in our community to stand up and fight back. We only win if we’re all in this together. ”
“Our community has endured a very real spike in antisemitism in recent years. We’ve seen bomb threats, vandalism and attacks on our schools and synagogues,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah. “It’s precisely because tackling this issue is so important that we can’t allow it to be hijacked by this administration to pursue an authoritarian agenda that puts us all at risk.”
“We cannot allow the fight against antisemitism to be twisted into a wedge issue, used to justify policies that target immigrants and other minorities, suppress free speech, or erode democratic norms,” the statement reads. “We reject these cynical attacks on higher education – institutions that have long been strongholds of Jewish academic and cultural life – under the pretense of protecting Jewish students.”
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