Twenty one rabbis and cantors from across the Twin Cities have signed onto a public letter denouncing anti-immigrant rhetoric in the 2024 election cycle. The letter, published on Nov. 1, was organized by Faith in Minnesota, an interfaith social welfare lobbying organization.
Signatories include clergy from Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Bet Shalom Congregation, Mount Zion, and other synagogues. Several retired and independent clergy also signed on.
The letter references the bombing of Minnesota mosques, and the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Perpetrators were inspired by anti-immigrant rhetoric, including white supremacist ideas like the antisemitic “great replacement” theory, which alleges that Jews are trying to replace and diminish white people in the U.S. by bringing immigrants of color to this country.
“Some politicians and political speakers are using this election season to spread fear, hate, and division rooted in the idea that our neighbors who are immigrants are somehow to blame for the real concerns we face,” the letter said. “When asked about their vision to help Americans afford our homes, the healthcare we need, childcare, or even just our groceries, some of the answers that follow encourage us to blame our neighbors who are Muslim or Latino or Somali.”
The letter added: “It is happening in local and national campaigns in rallies, flyers, and ads. This attitude of fear and hate toward immigrants is even promoted by some who claim to share our faith traditions, but we reject any version of our faith that does not include welcoming and loving all our neighbors no matter what country they were born in.”
The letter is vague when calling out which politicians, exactly, are spreading anti-immigrant rhetoric. Notably, many Republicans and former President Donald Trump have built their campaigns on regularly scapegoating immigrants.
Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, suffered bomb threats and fear after being singled out by the Trump campaign with false claims that Haitians were killing and eating local pets.
If elected, Trump plans to commit mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, and has regularly vilified Mexican Americans as “rapists” and “drug dealers.”
Trump is also spreading dangerous falsehoods about the federal response to areas of the Southeastern U.S. devastated by hurricanes in early October, claiming that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is not responding because they are busy helping illegal immigrants.
The public letter from Faith in Minnesota took an expansive and positive outlook on overcoming this kind of rhetoric.
“We – not candidates or political parties but us – can create a better politics together,” the letter said. “Recognize and call out the hate and division when you see or hear it. Cast a more positive vision of what is possible for our communities. Dare to hope.”
