Social Justice

June 2018

In response to last week's immigration crisis, where we watched children being forcibly removed from their parents, Darkhei Noam presented the following statement prior to the Prayer for the U.S. Government: 

As many of you know and appreciate, Darkhei Noam works very hard to keep politics out of our tefillah. We appreciate that our community has diverse political opinions and we want Darkhei Noam to be a place that is comfortable for everyone to daven. 

The events of this past week, however, remind us that we also must openly and unabashedly support the values we as American Jews hold so dear. The American Jewish community is a community of immigrants and refugees. One of the most repeated commandments in the Torah is to “Love the stranger in our midst” because we were strangers. And when we see images of children being pulled from the arms of their parents, it is time for us to stand up and speak up. 

As Rabbi Sperber reminded just last week, “When injustice is the law, resistance is our duty.”

Last year, Darkhei Noam joined the HIAS Welcome Campaign, which gives us access to a network of communities that support welcoming refugees to the U.S. and are engaging in the response to the global refugee crisis. We are proud to join many other Jewish organizations across all major American denominations in denouncing and opposing the violation of people’s human rights. We will continue to keep you apprised on opportunities for action -- whether it’s providing supplies for the babies and children who are in a federal shelter right here in Harlem or other ways to protect the stranger in our midst.

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February 2017

As part of an effort to expand the social justice work our community can be involved in, the Darkhei Noam board began exploring ways that we as a community could support immigrants and refugees arriving and currently in the United States. To that end, Darkhei Noam recently joined 250 other congregations in the HIAS Welcome Campaign. By joining the Campaign, Darkhei Noam will receive ongoing support, resources, and access to a network of communities that support welcoming refugees to the U.S. and are engaging in the response to the global refugee crisis. We will be bringing educational opportunities to our shul and promoting events in which our congregation can participate.

As many of you know and appreciate, Darkhei Noam has worked very hard to keep politics out of our tefillah. We appreciate that our community has diverse political opinions and we want Darkhei Noam to be a place that is comfortable for everyone to daven. We also believe that we must openly and unabashedly support the values we as American Jews hold so dear. The American Jewish community is a community of immigrants and refugees and we are proud to join many other Jewish organizations across all major American denominations in denouncing and opposing the violation of people’s human rights.

One of the most repeated commandments in the Torah is to “Love the stranger in our midst.” We are also taught the value of every human life. The leadership of Darkhei Noam hopes Darkhei Noam is a place of comfort and service for our community members. As such, we feel that we cannot remain silent in the face of recent attempts to turn away those in need. As we move forward, we will keep you apprised of opportunities to work on this issue and support refugees through the HIAS Welcome Campaign and other HIAS activities. The first such event is the HIAS rally taking place on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, in Battery Park. We will be sharing information with the community about how to join the Darkhei Noam contingent at the rally once we have further information.