Religious Leaders Sue Trump Over Immigration…Violating Their Own Religious Doctrine!

By Rabbi Michael Barclay 

 

Twenty-seven religious groups have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that ICE raids in houses of worship violate federal religious freedom protections. This group of 27 is composed of multiple conferences and organizations, each representing dozens or even hundreds of religious institutions, including the General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church, the New York State Council of Churches, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Wisconsin Council of Churches, and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

They base their entire suit on the premise that the Torah welcomes the stranger, and it is true that this is a principal concept of their religions. As they say correctly in the opening two paragraphs of the suit, “The Torah lays our this tenet 36 times, more than any other teaching: ‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens, you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (Lev. 19:34).  They are absolutely correct that this is the most oft repeated teaching in our text.

Which is why they are absolutely incorrect about the immigration policies of the Trump administration being in opposition to the theology.

A simple reading of the verse equates the behavior of the immigrant to the behavior of the natural born citizen.   Immigrants are to be treated the same. This means that if he commits a crime, he is to be punished, the same as a natural born citizen would be punished for criminal action. They are to be treated the same… NOT treated preferentially.  If a natural born murderer is in a church, it is appropriate for the government to arrest him there.  In the same way, it is the obligation of the legal authorities to arrest any illegal alien who is a criminal in a church.

The text that they are basing their argument upon the line that says that strangers who reside among us, i.e. immigrants, are to “be to you as one of your citizens”; and they should be treated that way.  Like natural born citizens, they are to have opportunities for advancement; and similarly, they are to have certain responsibilities.  Responsibilities that are outlined in detail in the Talmud and commentaries on the text going back over 2000 years…

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (pjmedia.com)

 

---

Home | Caravan to Midnight (zutalk.com)

We Need Your Help To Keep Caravan To Midnight Going,

Please Consider Donating To Help Keep Independent Media Independent