RCA and OU reject religious test for immigration

Posted Wednesday, December 9, 2015 12:00 am

The following joint statement by the RCA and the OU was distributed Wednesday night:

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) and the Orthodox Union (OU) reject calls to limit immigration to the United States based on religion.

Allen Fagin, executive vice president of the OU, said, "We call on all Americans to reaffirm that discrimination of any group solely upon religion is wrong and anathema to the great traditions of religious and personal freedoms upon which this country was founded."

Rabbi Shalom Baum, president of the RCA, said, "The RCA recognizes that the complex issues that face us in ensuring the safety and security from terror of innocents and free societies throughout the world need to be addressed, but need to be done in sober and responsible ways. We call upon all Americans and the United States government to recognize the threats posed by radical Islamists, while preserving and protecting the rights of all people who seek peace, no matter how they worship G-d."

As Jewish Agency Chairman and former dissident Natan Sharansky reminded us, "We should not permit ourselves to turn our legitimate fears and threats and challenges of terror into hatred of the other, into dismissing whole national or religious groups of people. That's why extreme remarks in one or another way are very dangerous."

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