The following statement was emailed to the JFS community from CEO Will Berkovitz on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Friday, Jan. 27, 2017) in response to the executive order signed that day.
President Trump signed an executive order that equates refugees to terrorists and unjustly targets Muslims.
We at Jewish Family Service reject this policy and those notions. JFS was founded by a small group of women committed to helping poor refugees coming from Europe and the Mediterranean. This responsibility was at the core of our founding in 1892, and it remains as critical to us today as it was then.
Refugees are individuals and families fleeing the horrors of war. They are victims of terror, not terrorists. Refugees are the most vetted group of people allowed into our country, undergoing 18 to 24 months of security screening from the Department of Homeland Security, the NSA and other national intelligence agencies.
This executive order comes at a time when there are historic numbers of refugees worldwide, half of whom are children.
President Trump said, “We don’t want them here.” Our Jewish history and values compel us to reject that position. We too were strangers in a strange land; and today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, we recall the deadly impact of this nation locking its doors. We are resolved to continue providing services to vulnerable people of all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds.
What can you do now?
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Contact your senators.
| Patty Murray 154 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-2621 Facebook: @pattymurray Twitter: @PattyMurray Website |
Maria Cantwell 511 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3441 Facebook: @senatorcantwell Twitter: @SenatorCantwell Website |
Contact the White House.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-111
Message the White House on Facebook.
Tweet at @realDonaldTrump, @WhiteHouse and @POTUS.
