400多猶太人抗議川普以「反猶太主義」名義打壓異己 促麻州通過「尊嚴而非驅逐法」

猶太人聚集在波士頓市府大樓前抗議川普政府行動。(主辦單位提供)

              (Boston Orange 編譯) 400多猶太人，4月17日晚聚在波士頓市府大樓外示威，抗議，呼籲聯邦政府立即釋放塔芙茨大學學生Rumeysa Ozturk，反對川普以打擊「反猶太主義」名義，侵犯公民自由，促請麻州政府通過「尊嚴而非驅逐法（Dignity Not Deportations Act）」。

              這400多人來自大波士頓地區的至少12個猶太組織，高舉著「釋放 Rumeysa」，「團結反對獨裁」等標語。

猶太人聚集在波士頓市府大樓前抗議川普政府行動。
(主辦單位提供)

他們特地選擇在4月12日至20日之間的猶太人逾越節 (Passover) 聚集，抗議美國移民及海關執法局 (ICE)的逮捕、羈押土耳其籍的塔大學生Rumeysa Ozturk，藉以把猶太人追求自由的故事和留學生，移民被拘留的困境連結起來，強調他們的訴求不只是釋放Rumeysa，而是呼籲猶太人社區抵制川普政府的相關政策，推動麻州通過「尊嚴而非驅逐法」，限制地方與ICE合作。

這場逾越節示威由包括 西奈聖殿 (Temple Sinai)、特魯阿人權拉比呼籲組織 (T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights) 及 立即行動波士頓分會 (IfNotNow Boston) 在內的至少12個猶太團體組織發起。

這晚有多位重要人士發言。麻州布魯克蘭鎮貝斯錫安聖殿 (Temple Beth Zion) 的拉比(Rabbi) Claudia Kreiman)強調，以保護猶太人為名來打壓異議，是讓人不可接受的行為。她還分享自己作為移民和以色列人的經歷，同情被拘留者的遭遇。西奈聖殿 (Temple Sinai ) 拉比 Andy Vogel 則強調，猶太社群對這議題有廣泛共識。麻州眾議員 Erika Uyterhoeven也到場聲援。

Broad coalition of Rabbis, Jewish community leaders, Rep. Uyterhoeven addressed more than 400 Boston-area Jews at a Passover rally against the abduction of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk and others
Prominent rabbis and Jewish community leaders, some with diverging views on the war in Gaza, made a united call for the release of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, and protested Trump’s repressive policies targeting freedom of speech and undermining civil liberties.

High quality photos and videos linked here
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Boston, MA — A broad coalition of Rabbis, rabbinical students, and leaders of Jewish community organizations addressed a rally of over 400 Boston-area Jews Thursday evening outside Boston City Hall, opposing what they described as the use of antisemitism as a false pretense for attacks on civil liberties by the Trump administration. Speakers and organizers affiliated with Temple Sinai, Temple Beth Zion, Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Temple Hillel B'nai Torah, Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, Kavod Boston, Boston Workers Circle, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Reform Jews for Justice, the New England Jewish Labor Committee, IfNotNow Boston, and Rabbis for Ceasefire addressed the peaceful demonstration, and called on the broader American Jewish community to join in resisting the Trump administration’s agenda. Banners reading “Safety Through Solidarity, not Authoritarians”, “Jews Say: Free Rumeysa”,  and “Jewish and Palestinian Safety Are Intertwined” were held by attendees, along with signs reading “Jews Against Deportations” and “Jews Say: Not In Our Name.”

Speakers at the rally included State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven, Rabbi Claudia Kreiman of Temple Beth Zion, Rabbi Andy Vogel of Temple Sinai, Rabbi Leora Abelson of Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, Rabbi Aliza Schwartz of Temple Hillel B’nei Torah, and Rabbi Rebecca Hornstein of Boston Workers Circle, along with several rabbinical students at Hebrew College. The demonstration, which called on the Trump administration to release students detained by ICE, featured  a “Seder in the Streets” coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Passover, with Rabbis speaking to parallels between the traditional story of Jewish liberation and themes of solidarity and support for students and immigrants detained by ICE, Palestinians facing deadly attacks in Gaza, and Israeli hostages held in captivity.

Prominent Boston-area Rabbis, some with diverging views on the war in Gaza, described how they were brought together in shared opposition to the abduction and detention of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk and Columbia students Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Madawi under the Trump administration’s pretense of fighting antisemitism. Local Jewish community leaders rejected the administration’s attempt to silence political opposition and denounced the Trump administration’s assault on the rule of law, freedom of speech, and the independence of the judiciary, warning against the administration’s attempt at an authoritarian takeover. They also spoke to the need to pass laws and take strong action at the state level to prevent the expansion of the detention and deportation machine, advocating for the passage of the Dignity Not Deportations Act, which would limit state and local cooperation with ICE.

“I am an immigrant to this country. I grew up in Chile under the Pinochet dictatorship, and I am Israeli,” said Rabbi Claudia Kreiman of Temple Beth Zion, who is also a board member of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.  “When I saw the video of Rumeysa Ozturk being taken into custody and handcuffed in Somerville, it didn’t feel like history repeating, it felt like a memory. Silencing and disappearing people in our name does not bring us closer to peace or justice. As an Israeli and a rabbi, I want to say clearly: This is not how we protect Jews or Israelis.”

“It’s clear that a broad cross section of the Jewish community in Boston opposes the arrests and detentions of students,” said Rabbi Andy Vogel of Temple Sinai, “This is a crucial time for all of us as Jews who care about human decency, human dignity, and democratic standards to all stand together. This is a crucial time for Jews who care about the well-being of the Jewish people, and of all peoples, to speak out together.” 

“Arresting and threatening the deportation of university students is not an effective or appropriate response to antisemitism, and it is not wanted by our Jewish communities,” said Rabbi Leora Abelson of Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue and a member of Rabbis for Ceasefire. “As the US government continues to support and enable the Israeli government in their campaign to ethnically cleanse Gaza and annex the West Bank, we call out the detention of activists in the US as a smokescreen for the real threats facing Jews and everyone: authoritarianism, white supremacy, and Christian nationalism. The detention of activists is a deliberate effort to silence our dissent, but we will not be silenced–and coming together in a diverse coalition like this one is an expression of our strength.”

“We know that the Trump administration's cynical weaponization of antisemitism to target activists and immigrants endangers us all, and we will not be fooled into allowing our community to be the face of the administration's assault on civil rights,” said Aron Wander, Rabbinical student at Hebrew College, “As it says in Isaiah 30:3, ‘Refuge with Pharaoh shall result in your shame.’ We know that our freedom and safety is bound up in the liberation of all peoples.”