Resolution on Immigration
A Statement from the President of OHALAH: the Association of Rabbis, Cantors, and Rabbinic Pastors for Jewish Renewal:
OHALAH opposes the January 27, 2017 U.S. Presidential Executive Order on Immigration because of its discriminatory and divisive nature.
Deuteronomy 22:3 forbids our hiding from the manifest needs of others, “lo tuchal l’hitaleim,” we may not remain indifferent. In that spirit, we have committed ourselves to discern by the light of our faith how best to stand with those whose civil rights, human rights, or religious freedom are called into question, especially when these challenges arise from proposed or applied governmental action.
Our tradition instructs that “the stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Lev. 19:33). This principle of welcoming the stranger is repeated 36 times in the Torah, more than any other commandment, and calls us to recognize that only in acknowledging that we are all beloved of God will we come to fulfill our potential for peace and blessing.
On behalf of OHALAH, I call on the U.S. President to rescind immediately this Executive Order and to reconsider the safety concerns it purports to address in a more productive, conscientious, and humane manner.
Rabbi Raachel Nathan Jurovics
President, OHALAH
Rabbi Rain Zohav
Chair, OHALAH Tikkun Olam Committee
January 31, 2017
A Statement from the President of OHALAH: the Association of Rabbis, Cantors, and Rabbinic Pastors for Jewish Renewal:
OHALAH opposes the January 27, 2017 U.S. Presidential Executive Order on Immigration because of its discriminatory and divisive nature.
Deuteronomy 22:3 forbids our hiding from the manifest needs of others, “lo tuchal l’hitaleim,” we may not remain indifferent. In that spirit, we have committed ourselves to discern by the light of our faith how best to stand with those whose civil rights, human rights, or religious freedom are called into question, especially when these challenges arise from proposed or applied governmental action.
Our tradition instructs that “the stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Lev. 19:33). This principle of welcoming the stranger is repeated 36 times in the Torah, more than any other commandment, and calls us to recognize that only in acknowledging that we are all beloved of God will we come to fulfill our potential for peace and blessing.
On behalf of OHALAH, I call on the U.S. President to rescind immediately this Executive Order and to reconsider the safety concerns it purports to address in a more productive, conscientious, and humane manner.
Rabbi Raachel Nathan Jurovics
President, OHALAH
Rabbi Rain Zohav
Chair, OHALAH Tikkun Olam Committee
January 31, 2017