NC Rabbis: This Passover we call on the White House to end wrongful detainment
We write to you today as a diverse group of rabbis from the Triangle joined by other North Carolina colleagues during a time of great vulnerability for the Jewish people. We are struggling with the rise of antisemitism around our country and around the world. And yet, we must not allow our fear to be used to obscure the very justice that our sacred texts call for, and that is a guiding moral principle of our faith.
As we gather for our Passover Seders this year, we will recount the story of our ancestors' redemption from slavery to freedom. Our powerful collective story tells of those who suffered and resisted — those who moved forward seeking justice in the face of great oppression and violence. We learn of a God who demands freedom, and that we must fight for freedom in every generation.
In the last month we have witnessed a troubling escalation of arrests and detention of immigrants without due process, revocations of visas and federal interventions against universities being justified by the Trump Administration as part of the fight against antisemitism. In our own state of North Carolina we have seen students at Duke, N.C. State and UNC Chapel Hill have their visas revoked. We call for Jews and other minorities to be able to learn and live in safety on college campuses, and we oppose targeting and detaining international students without due process. Violating constitutional rights is a deeply flawed strategy for fighting antisemitism. This threatens the very pillars of our democracy and does not make Jewish and Israeli students safer. As the CEO of Hillel International has expressed, funding cuts to universities in the name of fighting antisemitism may actually fuel antisemitism, as the negative effects of these policies could be blamed on the Jewish community.
As Jews, we can look back at our thousands of years of history and know that when a government restricts the rights of any given group, oppression of Jews will follow. Our safety and freedom are intrinsically linked with the safety and freedom of all peoples. We oppose the violation of anyone's constitutional rights under the guise of fighting antisemitism. The safety of the Jewish people and all marginalized communities depends on the flourishing of democracy, the protection of minority rights and the safeguarding of free expression.
As rabbis from North Carolina, we therefore call upon the administration to stop wrongful detainments, uphold the pillars of due process and end policies that threaten the very freedoms that have allowed Jewish communities to thrive in this nation. We have been deeply moved by the voices of our colleagues across the country and join them in stating that this assault on democracy and justice cannot be done in our name.
This Passover, when we recount our journey from oppression to freedom, let us be strengthened in our commitment to uphold justice, democracy and the rights of all peoples.
Rabbi Hannah Bender, Durham Rabbi Philip J Bentley, Hendersonville Rabbi Geoffrey Claussen, Greensboro Rabbi Judy Cohen-Rosenberg, Pittsboro Rabbi Robin Damsky, Efland Rabbi Lucy Dinner, Raleigh Rabbi Andrew Vogel Ettin, Pfafftown Rabbi Jen Feldman, Chapel Hill Rabbi Jessica Fisher, Greensboro Rabbi Grace Gleason, Greensboro Rabbi Solomon Hoffman, Chapel Hill Rabbi Tracy Guren Klirs, Charlotte Rabbi Sandra Lawson, Burlington Rabbi Batsheva Meiri, Asheville Rabbi Melissa B. Simon, Chapel Hill Rabbi Matthew Soffer, Durham Rabbi Eric Solomon, Raleigh Rabbi Dr. Jenny Solomon, Raleigh
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