U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan says a 1790 letter from George Washington to Newport’s Jewish community strikes a clear note for religious inclusion.
Kagan spoke Sunday during a celebration for the 250th anniversary of Touro Synagogue. It’s the nation’s oldest synagogue.
Kagan took part in the annual reading of Washington’s letter promising the new government would never support religious bigotry or persecution. The Providence Journal reports Kagan said Washington would not have written the letter casually, knowing it would be scrutinized closely.
Kagan is also scheduled to speak Tuesday in Providence at a celebration of the 350th anniversary of the state’s charter.
The Touro Synagogue congregation is embroiled in a legal dispute with the nation’s oldest Jewish congregation in New York City, which says it owns Touro. Lawsuits are pending in New York and Rhode Island.
(AP)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
These lawsuits and the accompanying news releases are a big chillul HaShem. Why can’t these two congregations just get along. Shearith Israel got control of Touro when there were no Jews left in Newport. For a long time it was closed. When Ashkenazim moved into Newport they wanted to use Touro and Shearith Israel would not let them. They broke in just before Rosh Hashanah and continued davening right through Simchas Torah. In Rhode Island there is a law that the police cannot interrupt a religious service, and cannot arrest anyone in the middle of a religious service. Finally an agreement was reached with Shearith Israel so the shul could be used. The relationship between Shearith Israel and Touro is so distant that Touro davens nusach sefard not Spanish Portuguese nusach like Shearith Israel. When Teddy Lewis was rabbi they even davened ashkenaz.