A cry is heard in Ramah — Wailing, bitter weeping. Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, for they are no longer. — Jeremiah 31:15
We are horrified and outraged by the new “Zero Tolerance” policy announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week that compels the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) to separate parents from their children when they cross our southern border.
Ripping families apart is cruel and inhumane. It is a practice associated with authoritarian regimes, not democratic societies with respect for human rights.
As Jews, we know too well from history the pain of parents being separated from their children as a result of violent and anti-Semitic state policies. As Americans, we know the painful history of enslaved families being torn apart, of Native American children being removed from their homes, and of too many other examples of families separated by state violence. Many of the families who arrive on our southern border are seeking asylum, and have taken the desperate risk of crossing this border in order to protect their children from violence. All have come seeking a better life for their children. The U.S. must not deepen these families’ trauma by separating parents and children.
Furthermore, the zero tolerance policy diverts asylum seekers into the criminal justice system rather than give them a fair chance to apply for asylum per international law and refugee conventions signed by the United States. And this policy needlessly places vulnerable children in dangerous and traumatic circumstances.
There is a Hasidic story about Rabbi Dov Ber of Lubavitch who lived with his family in the same house as his father, Rabbi Schneur Zalman. One night, while Rabbi Dov Ber was deeply engrossed in his studies, his youngest child fell out of his cradle. Rabbi Dov Ber heard nothing. But Rabbi Schneur Zalman, who was also immersed in study in his room, heard the infant’s cries. The Rebbe came downstairs, lifted the infant from the floor, soothed his tears, replaced him in the cradle, and rocked him to sleep. Rabbi DovBer remained oblivious. Later, Rabbi Schneur Zalman admonished his son: “No matter how lofty your involvements, you must never fail to hear the cry of a child.”
America must not fail to hear the cries of the children at our border. The “zero tolerance” approach to immigration isn’t just inhumane and immoral; it is also bad policy, as it requires a massive government investment in policing and jailing people who have not committed any crime, beyond seeking safety for their families. We call on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cancel this violent policy immediately, to stop separating families, and to commit to ensuring that asylum seekers are not treated as criminals, but have the opportunity to apply for refugee status per international law.
Media Contact
Julie Wiener, T’ruah Communications Director
jwiener@truah.org; 917-655-4586
About T’ruah
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, brings together rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism, together with all members of the Jewish community, to act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
