January 17, 2018 the Honorable Charles Schumer Senate Minority
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January 17, 2018 The Honorable Charles Schumer Senate Minority Leader 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Leader Schumer: As Reform Jewish clergy from New York and across the country, we write to you to urge you in the strongest terms to protect the nearly 800,000 DREAMers at risk of deportation by passing a clean Dream Act (S.1615/H.R.3440) before January 19, 2018. The Jewish tradition we share is clear on the treatment of immigrants. We are inspired by our faith that demands of us concern for the stranger in our midst. Now is the time to turn our values into action, and to ensure that justice for our country’s most vulnerable is neither delayed nor denied. We join with the broader immigrant justice community in calling on Congress to pass a clean Dream Act. This bipartisan, permanent solution to the tenuous status under which DACA participants currently live is the best path forward for them and our nation overall. The recent U.S. District Court decision shows that DACA recipients deserve protected status, but we agree that it does not diminish Congress’ obligation to pass legislation that will grant that status permanently. As you well know, the Dream Act would grant current DACA recipients permanent resident status on a conditional basis, would permit conditional permanent residents to then obtain lawful permanent resident status, and provide a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers who attend college, work in the U.S., or serve in the military. The bill would also improve college affordability for undocumented youth by changing rules that limit their access to in-state tuition and college loans. We know that the challenges to ensuring a permanent, secure future for DREAMers are significant and that you are working diligently toward that goal. Know that we stand with you, as do Reform Jews nationwide, many of whom are immigrants themselves or descendants of immigrants. All of us urge that same welcome for those seeking the American Dream today. Leviticus commands, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (19:33-34). This teaching permeates Jewish tradition and is echoed 35 times in the Torah – the most repeated of any commandment. It reminds us of how our ancestors were treated as the stranger, even in Egypt, a land where we lived for generations. The DREAMers who have grown up in the United States are not strangers; they are vital members of our communities. We must uphold their dignity as members of American society by passing a clean Dream Act before January 19, 2018, at which time the reality of ensuring no gap between the end of the program and a permanent, legislative fix becomes impossible. Please remain firm in your commitment to DREAMers and help them secure the future they deserve in this great nation. Thank you, Rabbi Marla Feldman, Executive Director, Women of Reform Judaism Rabbi Steven A. Fox, Chief Executive, Central Conference of American Rabbis Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Senior Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism Rabbi David Saperstein, Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy, Union for Reform Judaism Rabbi David Stern, President, Central Conference of American Rabbis Cantor Steven Weiss, President, American Conference of Cantors 667 Reform Jewish Clergy Nationwide (Congregation listed for identification purposes only) New York 1. Rabbi Donald Cashman, B'nai Sholom, Albany 2. Rabbi Scott Shpeen, Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany 2 3. Cantor Jodi Schechtman, Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany 4. Rabbi Joshua Strom, Congregation B’nai Yisrael, Armonk 5. Rabbi Douglas Krantz, Congregation B'nai Yisrael, Armonk 6. Rabbi Jason Nevarez, Temple Shaaray Tefila, Bedford Corners 7. Rabbi Stacy Bergman, Temple Shaaray Tefila, Bedford corners 8. Rabbi Barbara Goldman-Wartell, Temple Concord, Binghamton 9. Rabbi Rachel Timoner, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn 10. Cantor Joshua Breitzer, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn 11. Rabbi Andy Shugerman, Men of Reform Judaism, Brooklyn 12. Cantor Suzanne Bernstein, Suzanne Bernstein, Brooklyn 13. Rabbi Leora Kaye, Union for Reform Judaism, Brooklyn 14. Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman, Union Temple, Brooklyn 15. Rabbi Barat Ellman, Brooklyn 16. Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer, Brooklyn 17. Rabbi Hara Person, Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, Brooklyn 18. Rabbi Josh Weinberg, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn 19. Rabbi Jerry Weider, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn 20. Rabbi Jonathan Freirich, Temple Beth Zion, Buffalo 21. Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua 22. Rabbi Maura Linzer, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua 23. Cantor Elizabeth Goldmann, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua 24. Cantor Audrey Halpern, Temple Beth David, Commack 25. Cantor Nancy Hausman, Temple Shalom, Cortland 26. Rabbi Jennifer Jaech, Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, Croton-on- Hudson 27. Cantor Debra Stein, Jewish Center of the Hamptons, East Hampton 28. Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, Jewish Center of the Hamptons (Emeritus), East Hampton 29. Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, The Reform Temple of Forest Hills, Forest Hills 30. Cantor Deborah Jacobson, The Reform Temple of Forest Hills, Forest Hills 31. Rabbi Stephen Goodman, Garden City Jewish Center, Garden City 32. Rabbi Norman Mendel, Beth El, Glens Falls 33. Rabbi Renni Altman, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Great Neck 34. Rabbi Elle Muhlbaum, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, Great Neck 35. Rabbi Jerome Davidson, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, Great Neck 36. Cantor Vladimir Lapin, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, Great Neck 37. Cantor Lisa Hest, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, Great Neck 38. Cantor Robin Joseph, Temple Beth Shalom, Hastings-on-Hudson 3 39. Cantor Alison Levine, Temple Beth El of Huntington, Huntington 40. Cantor Abbe Lyons, Congregation Tikkun v'Or, Ithaca 41. Cantor Richard Rosenfield, Congregation Tikkun v'Or, Ithaca 42. Rabbi Cassi Kail, Temple Or Elohim, Jericho 43. Rabbi Yael Romer, Congregation Emanuel of the Hudson Valley, Kingston 44. Cantor Galina Makaveyev, Temple Israel, Lawrence 45. Rabbi Sandra Bellush, Temple Am Echad, Lynbrook 46. Rabbi Susie Moskowitz, Temple Beth Torah, Melville 47. Cantor Sarene Appelbaum, Temple Beth Torah, Melville 48. Rabbi Rachel Wiesenberg, Temple Beth Torah, Melville 49. Cantor Daniel M. Rosenfeld, Temple Beth Am of Merrick and Bellmore, Merrick 50. Rabbi Daniel Bar-Nahum, Daniel Bar-Nahum, Mineola 51. Rabbi Michele Medwin, Temple Sholom, Monticello 52. Cantor Elizabeth Sternlieb, Sinai Free Synagogue, Mount Vernon 53. Rabbi Randy Sheinberg, Temple Tikvah, New Hyde Park 54. Cantor Sarah Zemel, Kol Hazzanim: Westchester Community of Cantors, New Rochelle 55. Rabbi Scott Weiner, Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New Rochelle 56. Rabbi Shira Epstein, 14th Streer Y, New York 57. Cantor Daniel Pincus, American Conference of Cantors, New York 58. Rabbi Stan Schickler, Association of Reform Jewish Educators, New York 59. Rabbi Laurie Phillips, Beineinu, New York 60. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Central, New York 61. Rabbi Maurice Salth, Central Synagogue, New York 62. Rabbi Stephanie Kolin, Central Synagogue, New York 63. Rabbi Ari Lorge, Central Synagogue, New York 64. Rabbi Mark Hurvitz, Central Synagogue, New York 65. Cantor Julia Cadrain, Central Synagogue, New York 66. Cantor Daniel Mutlu, Central Synagogue, New York 67. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, New York 68. Rabbi Joshua Davidson, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, New York 69. Rabbi Sara Sapadin, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, New York 70. Rabbi Sarah Reines, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, New York 71. Cantor Shira Ginsburg, East End Temple, New York 72. Cantor Benjie Schiller, Hebrew Union College Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, New York 4 73. Rabbi SueLevi Elwel, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 74. Rabbi Nancy Wiener, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 75. Rabbi Margaret Wenig, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 76. Rabbi David Adelson, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 77. Rabbi Darcie Crystal, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 78. Rabbi Kim Geringer, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 79. Rabbi Aaron Panken, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 80. Cantor Jonathan Comisar, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 81. Cantor Richard Cohn, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 82. Cantor Josee Wolff, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York 83. Rabbi Marc Margolius, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, New York 84. Rabbi Nicole DeBlosi, PhD, NYU Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life, New York 85. Rabbi Jessica Kate Meyer, Romemu, New York 86. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, New York 87. Rabbi Michael Mellen, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, New York 88. Cantor Daniel Singer, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, New York 89. Rabbi James Stoloff, Temple Israel of the City of New York, New York 90. Rabbi David Gelfand, Temple Israel of the City of New York, New York 91. Cantor Dana Anesi, Temple of Universal Judaism, New York 92. Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, Temple Shaaray Tefila, New York 93. Cantor Todd Kipnis, Temple Shaaray Tefila, New York 94. Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, The New York Board of Rabbis, New York 95. Cantor Lisa Arbisser, The Society for the Advancement of Judaism, New York 96. Rabbi Deborah Hirsch, The Village Temple, New York 97. Cantor Menorah Winston, The Village Temple, New York 98. Rabbi Elizabeth Zeller, Union for Reform Judaism, New York 99. Cantor Nancy Bach, Village Temple, New York 100. Rabbi Daniel Freelander, World Union for Progressive Judaism, New York 101.