From the Rector

This is not a political statement.
This is your priest dropping a marker in the soil.

Our government recently declared that Judaism is a different nationality, for political purposes.  This is dangerous, and has life-threatening precedent.

Jewish people born in America are Americans. They are not another nationality.  When the government says they are a different nationality, that is a dangerous thing.

We have seen governments do this to the Jews in the past, and it does not turn out well.
Our government claims they do this for their own good and protection.
We have seen governments make that claim in the past, and it does not turn out well.

In case we think it is only words, we have the shootings in Jersey City just last week to remind us that it is not just words.

The Jewish people are God’s chosen people. And they have never stopped being God’s chosen people. Christianity is grafted onto Judaism, not the other way around. We are welcomed into the Jewish faith as Christians, not the other way around.  The Jewish faith is the foundation of our faith.  And without the Jews, there is no Christianity.  Our own Lord and Savior was a Jew.  We recite the Psalms because they were the prayers that Jesus prayed.  We Christians are adopted Jews.

I say all this not as an opinion but as a matter of life and death. It is not okay to say that American Jews are a different nationality than other Americans. It is not okay to say that American Jews have a different leader than other Americans.  The Jews who live in America are Americans.

To deny this fact is dangerous, and there are people we all know and love who are put in danger by such claims.

Americans are Americans, no matter what our government says.  Our Jewish brothers and sisters are Americans, no matter what our government says.  Don’t believe anyone who says otherwise, because we’ve seen where this road leads, and we must not walk down that road again.