Letters & Statements

This event seeks to equate Israel’s soldiers and innocent victims of terrorism with those who murdered them in cold blood, often in suicide attacks. Israel’s victims of terror includes people of all ages, religions and creeds, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, and people from various nationalities including many Americans.

Without robust protection for those whose religious beliefs demand more traditional practices, the Equality Act has the potential to bring the United States’ centuries-long history of robust protection of our religious liberties to an abrupt and ignominious end.

As described in the press release, this is not an educational event but a political rally. Moreover, the event organizer and several speakers are all outspoken anti-Israel activists who have engaged in expression deemed antisemitic not only by the vast majority of world Jewry, but also by the standards established by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

We note with dismay that the letter from left-wing groups makes no mention of the unbroken 3300-year heritage of the unique religious and historical connection between Jews and the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, from which Jews were only removed via massacres and ethnic cleansing. It also makes no mention of the unceasing hostility Jews have faced since establishing contemporary self-governance in their homeland.

Our organizations heartily applaud you for your courageous leadership in vetoing the College Council’s vote to shut down Pitzer’s study abroad program at the University of Haifa. Your staunch defense of the academic freedom and educational opportunities of Pitzer students and faculty in the face of an academic boycott of Israel is exemplary.

We sent individual thank you letters to the 24 Congressmen who did not support an overly-broad “anti-hate” resolution that failed to uniquely condemn the anti-Semitic vitriol of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

We hope you will continue to demonstrate your commitment to the high moral standards of your office by removing Rep. Omar, a woman who has repeatedly exhibited strong biases against the State of Israel and the Jewish people, from this critically important and sensitive committee.

Similar, future statements by her and others will reflect directly upon the credibility of your office, the House Democratic majority, and the Democratic Party itself, when they claim to oppose bigotry and hatred in all their forms.

There are now dozens of children waiting in group homes rather than placed with foster parents able to care for them as individuals. Who could contend that this result is better for our country, or for our very humanity? Children are being harmed on a daily basis by this discriminatory, misguided policy

To allow this appointment to stand is tantamount to saying that anti-Semitism is acceptable to the United States House of Representatives, and would be a slap in the face of every freedom-loving American who objects to bigotry against minority groups.