Dear Seattle Jewish Community,
Over the last few months, we’ve heard from many of you, across a wide range of perspectives, expressing your thoughts and desired courses of action about the intersection of Jewish safety and democracy.
This conversation has been playing out nationally in the Jewish press and between major Jewish organizations, especially after a statement “Rejecting False Choice Between Jewish Safety & Democracy” was released on April 15 by a coalition of 10 national Jewish organizations, led by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). Since then, the JCPA has invited local organizations and individuals to sign on to the statement. We received passionate feedback both in favor and in opposition to our JCRC signing on to the statement.
The Federation’s JCRC has a carefully constructed process we can engage in exactly for wrestling with complex issues like these. Last week, we utilized this process and put the question to a vote of our JCRC councilmembers. While there was support on both sides of the question, the vote passed in favor of the Federation’s JCRC signing the JCPA Statement. You can read the full text of the statement by clicking here or by scrolling down below our signatures.
The JCRC is made up of 36 local institutional members as well as at-large members. For our JCRC to reach “consensus” on a policy question, it is a high bar. This threshold has two components—at least 80% of institutions and at-large members have to cast a “yay” or “nay” vote (as in not abstain), and over 75% of those have to vote “yay”.
The JCRC strive to be a representative voice of its membership. On this issue, that voice has spoken decisively, though not unanimously, to support signing onto this statement. The vote on the statement passed with 41 yay, 9 nay, and 4 abstentions, with 82% in favor and 18% against. We know many in our community will welcome and celebrate this action, while others will be deeply disappointed or concerned.
There is a long history in the Jewish people of discussion, debate, and listening to one another. One thing that has been clear in the conversations we’ve had in recent months is that many in our community are talking only in echo chambers with little opportunity to engage in dialogue across differences. In the year ahead, we will create more spaces in which community members can engage meaningfully with each other across an ideological spectrum – to open our eyes, hearts, and minds – for the sake of our community.
In this coming Shabbat’s Torah portion we read what many commentators have called the central principle of the Torah: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). Regardless of your feelings about this statement, we hope that everyone in our community can hold onto that sentiment even when we don’t all agree, especially as we share our collective commitment to Jewish safety and Jewish community.
L’shalom,
Solly Kane,
President & CEO
Max Patashnik,
Director of JCRC & Government Affairs
“The rule of law, freedom of inquiry, access to vibrant places of higher education, and strong democratic norms and institutions have allowed American Jewry to thrive for hundreds of years.
“There should be no doubt that antisemitism is rising—visible, chilling, and increasingly normalized in our public discourse, politics, and institutions. It requires urgent and consistent action by our nation’s political, academic, religious, and civic leaders. At the same time, we firmly reject the false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy. Our safety as Jews has always been tied to the rule of law, to the safety of others, to the strength of civil society, and to the protection of rights and liberties for all.
“At this moment, Jews are being targeted and held collectively accountable for the actions of a foreign government. Jews are being pushed out of certain movements, classrooms, and communities for expressing a connection to their heritage or to the Jewish homeland. And, horrifically, some voices in the public square are justifying or celebrating the murder of Jews. Dangerous antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories that over the past decade have already fueled a cycle of hate crimes and violence — including the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history in Pittsburgh — have been mainstreamed by too many political leaders, civil society influencers, social media platforms, and others.
“In recent weeks, escalating federal actions have used the guise of fighting antisemitism to justify stripping students of due process rights when they face arrest and/or deportation, as well as to threaten billions in academic research and education funding. Students have been arrested at home and on the street with no transparency as to why they are being held or deported, and in certain cases with the implication that they are being punished for their constitutionally-protected speech. Universities have an obligation to protect Jewish students, and the federal government has an important role to play in that effort; however, sweeping draconian funding cuts will weaken the free academic inquiry that strengthens democracy and society, rather than productively counter antisemitism on campus.
“These actions do not make Jews—or any community—safer. Rather, they only make us less safe.
“We reject any policies or actions that foment or take advantage of antisemitism and pit communities against one another; and we unequivocally condemn the exploitation of our community’s real concerns about antisemitism to undermine democratic norms and rights, including the rule of law, the right of due process, and/or the freedoms of speech, press, and peaceful protest.
“It is both possible and necessary to fight antisemitism—on campus, in our communities, and across the country—without abandoning the democratic values that have allowed Jews, and so many other vulnerable minorities, to thrive.
“We appreciate the civil society, academic, and local, state, and national leaders who are committed to seriously and thoughtfully addressing the threat of antisemitism. We remain committed to working alongside university leadership and public officials at every level to ensure policies and practices that protect the Jewish community as well as other marginalized communities and uphold for all people the principles of justice, fairness, and equal protection under the law. That is the only path to true safety.”
