JEWISH CLERGY LETTER AGAINST MASS DEPORTATIONS
February 18th, 2025
To Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams,
We are Jewish clergy and Jewish institutions calling on you to do everything within your power to
oppose all aspects of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and to protect immigrant
communities across New York.
We know that the Trump administration is taking extreme measures in the early days of his
presidency to deport many immigrants. We are terrified for the friends, neighbors, classmates,
congregants, and coworkers who make up our communities and count themselves among the nearly
700,000 undocumented New Yorkers most at risk under the new administration. Donald Trump and
his administration are planning to “unleash the vast arsenal of federal powers to implement the most
spectacular migration crackdown.”
The Trump administration’s action to rescind previous guidelines now means that ICE and CBP
enforcement are allowed in sensitive locations including schools, hospitals, and places of worship.
This makes It even more important that you direct city and state governments to follow and
strengthen the guidance that allows immigrants to safely access essential services without fear of
deportation.
The administration has made it clear that they intend to carry out their deportation plans using violent,
even deadly, tactics, which will cause immigrant New Yorkers of all statuses to be caught in the
crosshairs. Our children will show up to school to find their classmates missing; the care workers who
take care of New York’s older adults won’t show up to work; and our neighbors will disappear in ICE
sweeps.
Why this matters to us as Jews
Many of our Jewish ancestors, as well as members in our Jewish community today, came to the
United States – often through New York City – for the same reason that new New Yorkers come
today: to escape death and persecution. Our country still lives with a stain on our history from the
thousands of Jews who were denied refuge in the United States and sent back to their deaths in
Europe.
We read in the Book of Exodus of how a new Pharaoh arose over Egypt who scapegoated and
marginalized the Israelites, spinning a narrative that they were a threat and needed to be suppressed
and ultimately enslaved. We also know in our bones and from our modern history the danger of an
unchecked xenophobic government scapegoating ‘outsiders’ to gain power, preying on a population
experiencing hard economic times to gain support for a violent and destructive agenda. We will not
stand by while history repeats itself. You, our state and local leaders, must not either.
Our ancestors who were welcomed into New York and given resources and support to find work and
raise their families were able to become integral, valued members of their communities. Most of the
immigrant New Yorkers at risk of deportation have been here for over a decade; they are woven into
the fabric of our city and state, and allowing them to be torn out hurts all of us.
What the city and state can do to protect immigrant New Yorkers
Trump’s deportation agenda can’t be accomplished without close collaboration from state and local
authorities to detain immigrant New Yorkers. We call on our New York State and City leaders not to
collaborate. This means:
● Making public statements and calling upon local law enforcement to restrict immigration
enforcement actions within sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals, and houses of
worship;
● Preventing local law enforcement from sharing information with or collaborating with ICE;
● Not using local jails to detain immigrants;
● And providing immigrant New Yorkers with the resources - including legal representation - that
they need to safely stay and build their lives here.
Decades ago, Jews were rounded up and their neighbors chose to comply instead of banding
together to protect them. In our ancient Exodus story, the midwives refused to comply with Pharaoh’s
decree to kill all of the Hebrew baby boys. We refuse to be among the silent or compliant today. We
remember.
We implore you to be the leaders we desperately need at this moment, and do all you can to resist
Trump’s terrifying anti-immigrant agenda.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Guy Austrian, Fort Tryon Jewish Center*
Cantor Josh Breitzer, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn NY*
Cantor Olivia Brodsky, East End Temple*
Rabbi Caleb Brommer, Temple Beth-El, Ithaca, NY*
Rabbi Donna Cephas, String Of Pearls Congregation*
Rabbi Emily Cohen, West End Synagogue*
Rabbi Michelle Dardashti
Rabbi Joshua Davidson
Rabbinical Student Bennett Decker, Jewish Theological Seminary*
Rabbi Juliet Elkind-Cruz
Rabbi Barat Ellman, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ)*
Rabbi SusanFalk
Rabbi Zach Fredman, Temenos Center for the Arts*
Rabbi Ruth Gais
Rabbi Jonah Geffen
Rabbi Rabbi Rosalind Glazer, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association*
Rabbi Deborah Goldberg
Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg, Malkhut*
Rabbi Irwin Goldenberg
Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, SAJ*
Rabbi Daniel Graber, Forest Hills Jewish Center *
Rabbi Lisa Grant
Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer
Student Rabbi Adam Graubart
Rabbi Miriam Grossman
Rabbi Hilly Haber
Rabbi Yael Hammerman
Rabbi Margo Hughes-Robinson
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, T'ruah CEO
Rabbi Andrue Kahn, American Council for Judaism*
Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster
Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, The Reform Temple of Forest Hills*
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
Rabbi Juliana Karol
Rabbi Jason Klein, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah*
Senior Rabbi Emerita Sharon Kleinbaum
Rabbi Stephanie Kolin, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn NY*
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Lab/Shul*
Cantor Amelia Lavranchuk
Student Cantor Gabriel Lehrman
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives*
Rabbi Andrew Kaplan Mandel
Rabbi Marc Margolius
Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, Temple Shaaray Tefila*
Rabbi José Rolando Matalon
Rabbi Shuli Passow, B'nai Jeshurun*
Rabbi Rex Perlmeter
Rabbi Max Reynolds
Rabbi David Rosenn
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn
Rabbi Sivan Rotholz
Rabbi Jill Rubin
Rabbi Randy Sheinberg, Temple Tikvah*
Rabbi MishaShulman, The New Shul*
Rabbi Felicia Sol, B’nai Jeshurun*
Student Rabbi Louisa Solomon
Cantor IsaacSonett-Assor
Rabbi Abby Stein, Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives*
Rabbi Lennard Thal
Rabbi Yael Werber
Rabbi DanielWolpe
*name of affiliation listed for identification purposes only.
Endorsing Organizations:
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Long Island
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Riverdale
HIAS
Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ)
New York Jewish Agenda (NYJA)
New Jewish Culture Fellowship
Never Again Action (NAA)
Synagogue Coalition on the Refugee and Immigration Crisis (SCRIC)
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
The Workers Circle
