New York, NY, March 4, 2013- T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights has joined a “friend of the court” briefing filed by a coalition of Jewish organizations in support of marriage equality. The group added an extended interest statement that emphasizes the Jewish and human rights imperative for equality in civil marriage. These two briefs relate to the two high profile marriage cases now before the United States Supreme Court.
“We are committed to partnering with other Jewish organizations supporting marriage equality,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah. “It was also important to us to include traditional Jewish language in our filing and emphasize that equality before the law is a Jewish and human rights imperative.”
Hollingsworth v. Perry, challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the ballot measure in California that restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples. United States v. Windsor challenges the constitutionality of Section 3 of the 1996 “Defense of Marriage Act” or (DOMA).
In both of its statements of interests, T’ruah argues, “Our commitment to human rights begins with the Torah’s declaration that all people are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26)” and cites rabbinic sources that equate harming another person to harming God.
In the Windsor case, which concerns a surviving same-sex spouse facing an inheritance tax not levied on opposite-sex spouses, T’ruah further argues, “Jewish law. . .upholds the right of the government to impose taxes on its citizens. However, major Jewish legal authorities classify as “theft” a tax levied on one subgroup and not on another.” (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Theft 5:14; Shulchan Aruch, Hoshen Mishpat 369:8).
In its statement of interest for Hollingsworth v. Perry, T’ruah argues, “The insistence that human beings are created in the image of God also spawns a commandment to procreate—that is, to partner with God in creating new divine images. In fact, this is the first commandment that the Torah gives to human beings. Today, many same sex couples are having and raising children. Denying these couples the rights of marriage challenges their ability to fulfill this divine commandment.”
T’ruah also points out that three of the four major movements of Judaism—Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist—permit clergy to sanctify same-sex relationships. The statements of interest conclude, “While each rabbi or religious community retains the right to determine acceptable guidelines for religious marriage, the state has an obligation to guarantee to same-sex couples the legal rights and protections that accompany civil marriage. Doing otherwise constitutes a violation of human rights, as well as the Jewish and American legal imperatives for equal protection under the law.”
T’ruah represents 1800 rabbis and cantors, of all Jewish denominations, as well as tens of thousands of Jewish community members in North America. T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, is one of dozens of groups speaking in favor of marriage equality in the Anti-Dafamation League’s amicus briefs including: Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Bend the Arc – A Jewish Partnership for Justice; The Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Women of Reform Judaism; Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST); Hadassah – The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.; and many more organizations.
Read the full amicus briefs here:
Anti-Defamation League Amicus Brief in United States v. Windsor
http://www.adl.org/civil-rights/adl-in-the-courts/amicus-briefs/brief-pdfs/Windsor-Amicus-Brief-Anti-Defamation-League.pdf
Anti-Defamation League Amicus Brief in Hollingsworth v. Perry
http://www.adl.org/civil-rights/adl-in-the-courts/amicus-briefs/brief-pdfs/Perry-Amicus-brief-Anti-Defamation-League.pdf
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Read the Anti-Defamation League press release here:
http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/civil-rights/adl-broad-coalition-marriage-equality-amicus-brief.html#.UTEODzDvjTp