Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

Jackie Congedo — In Conversation

Israel is currently home to approximately 38,000 asylum seekers from Africa, all of whom entered the country through the Sinai desert between the years 2005-2012. Since then, the Israeli government and Supreme Court have taken legislative and judicial action that has resulted in the recent challenges surrounding African asylum seekers in Israel today. We recognize that those seeking asylum in Israel are in a precarious and complicated situation that continues to develop and receive international attention.

As your Cincinnati JCRC, we want to provide you with information about the latest developments and share this letter (below) by many rabbis and other leaders in our community expressing their concern about this situation. —Jackie

01.31.2018 Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis

To: The Honorable Ron Dermer, Ambassador of Israel to the United States

Mr. Yaron Gamburg, Minister of Public Diplomacy, Israel Embassy to the United States

Mr. Dani Dayan , Consul General of Israel in New York

Honorable Sirs:

We, the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis together with rabbis, scholars, educators and future Jewish leaders from the Jewish community of Cincinnati OHIO, hereby express our deepest concern about the future of African asylum seekers in Israel.

In 1951 the American Jewish lawyer Louis Henkin, in collaboration with the Israeli lawyer Jacob Robinson, succeeded in causing the UN Refugee Convention to accept Israeli Rabbi Yitzhak Levin’s suggestion for article 33:

Prohibition of Expulsion or Return (“refoulement”)

1. No Contracting State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.”

This is a great example of the collaboration of American and Israeli Jewry on behalf of all humanity.

This is also the promise we see in the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel and the values we would like to celebrate with you on this 70th anniversary of the State of Israel.

We have worked in the past to help Israel in cases where Jews were at risk from the governments or regimes in their countries of origin.

We have created campaigns to raise international awareness of genocide in Darfur, Sudan and other places.

We are working regularly to help refugees of all national origins across the United States.

Please deliver the following message to the Israeli government:

1. Please put on hold your decision to expel African asylum seekers (AAS) from Israel.
2. Please make available to the AAS the opportunity to file a refugee request and assistant in responding to governmental inquiries before requiring them to leave the country.
3. While the refugee request is pending, please give the AAS a temporary work permit such as you give to other foreign workers who seek to enter Israel.
4. Please work with the UNHCR to ease, help and resolve the challenges facing the AAS and the Israeli government.
5. Please use our strong commitment to the state of Israel together with the creativity and wisdom existing in Israel to reduce the violence among tribes in Africa so that the AAS will be able to return to their home countries in peace.

We the undersigned make these moral demands.

(Note: Institutional affiliations for identification purposes only)

1. Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Pines School of Graduate Studies, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Cincinnati OH
2. Rabbi Dr. Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, HUC-JIR, Cincinnati OH
3. Rabbi Robert B. Barr, Congregation Beth Adam, Cincinnati OH
4. Rabbi Sigma F. Coran, Rockdale Temple, Cincinnati OH
5. Rabbi Meredith Kahan Flowers, Rockdale Temple, Cincinnati OH
6. Rabbi Lewis H. Kamrass, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Cincinnati OH
7. Rabbi Karen Thomashow, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Cincinnati OH
8. Rabbi Elana Perry, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Cincinnati OH
9. Rabbi Abie Ingber, Xavier University, Cincinnati OH
10. Rabbi Shena Potter Jaffee, Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis, Cincinnati OH
11. Rabbi Irvin M. Wise, Adath Israel Congregation, Cincinnati OH
12. Rabbi Daniel Bogard, Cincinnati OH
13. Rabbi Karen Kriger Bogard, Cincinnati OH
14. Rabbi Elana Dellal, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati OH
15. Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp, Temple Sholom, Cincinnati OH
16. Rabbi Eric Slaton, Beth Israel Synagogue, West Chester, OH
17. Rabbi Margaret Meyer, Cincinnati OH
18. Rabbi Jennifer Lewis, Mason OH
19. Rabbi Lindsey Danziger, Reform Ohio, Cincinnati OH
20. Rabbi George (Gershom) Barnard, Cincinnati, OH
21. Rabbi Dr. Matthew Kraus, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
22. Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of The American Jewish Archives, And HUCJIR, Cincinnati OH
23. Sarah L. Weiss, The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, Cincinnati OH
24. Rabbi Elena Stein, Cincinnati OH
25. Dr. Ethan Katz, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
26. Cantor Alane S. Katzew, Cedar Village, Mason OH
27. Dr. Ari Finkelstein, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
28. Dr. Adrian Parr, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
29. Dr. Craig Perry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
30. Rabbi Dr. Richard S. Sarason, HUC-JIR, Cincinnati OH
31. Rabbi Julie S. Schwartz, Stein Professor of Human Relations, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
32. Rabbi Ari Ballaban, Temple Beth-Or, Dayton OH
33. Rabbi Adam Rosenthal, Cincinnati OH
34. Rabbi Ken Kanter, Associate Dean and Director of the Rabbinical School, HUC-JIR, Cincinnati OH
35. Dr. Dana Herman, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of The American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati OH
36. Aharon Varady, The Open Siddur Project, Cincinnati OH
37. Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, Cincinnati OH
38. Dr. Gila Safran Naveh, Department Head, Judaic Studies, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
39. Dr. Michael Meyer, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
40. Rabbi (Student) Alicia Harris, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
41. Rabbi (Student) Zoe McCoon, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
42. Rabbi (Student) Samantha Schapera, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
43. Rabbi (Student) Libby Fisher, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
44. Rabbi (Student) Yael Dadoun, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
45. Rabbi (Student) Natalie Louise Shribman, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
46. Rabbi (Student) Isaama Stoll, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
47. Rabbi (Student) Taylor Poslosky, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
48. Rabbi (Student) Bailey Romano, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
49. Rabbi (Student) Simone Schicker, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
50. Rabbi (Student) Kylynn Perdue-Bronson, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
51. Rabbi (Student) Taylor Baruchel, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
52. Rabbi (Student) Will Hall, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
53. Rabbi (Student) Sam Schauvaney, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
54. Rabbi (Student) Benjamin Zober, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
55. Rabbi (Student) Rachel Gross-Prinz, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
56. Rabbi (Student) David Reinhart, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
57. Rabbi (Student) Samuel C Kaye, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
58. Rabbi (Student) David B. Bloom, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
59. Rabbi (Student) Zachary S Goodman, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
60. Rabbi (Student) Joseph Rosen, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
61. Rabbi (Student) Ally Resnik Jacobson, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
62. Rabbi (Student) Michael Weiss, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
63. Rabbi (Student) Sara Zober, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
64. Rabbi (Student) Ross Levy, HUC-JIR. Cincinnati OH
65. Abby Schwartz, director of the Skirball Museum Cincinnati, HUC-JIR, Cincinnati OH.

For further information please contact:

Rabbi Shena Potter Jaffee, President, Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis

shenapotterjaffee@gmail.com

or

Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit-Halachmi

rabbiofer@gmail.com

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