We, Jews living in Westchester County, condemn the violent methods used by the Department of Homeland Security in enforcing U.S. immigration laws, particularly in Minneapolis and other communities across the country. Whether or not we fully agree on political issues like border control, immigration, political asylum and the current administration’s policies, we believe this moment calls not only for concern, but also for visible moral clarity.
We wish to lift up the recent statement by the rabbinic and lay leaders of the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements and call on fellow Westchester Jews to speak out as well.
ICE and CBP agents have acted with impunity, using lethal force, mass intimidation and tactics that terrorize immigrant families, traumatize children, and destabilize entire communities. Renée Good and Alex Pretti were community members using non-violent tactics to protect their vulnerable neighbors and protest their treatment. That they have been posthumously labeled “domestic terrorists,” while the agents responsible for their deaths face no accountability, represents a profound moral inversion. The practice of detaining children during these operations exhibits a level of cruelty that corrodes the moral core of our cherished multi-ethnic democratic society. When state power is exercised without accountability anywhere, safety erodes everywhere. We are living in a moment of rising, open antisemitism, and our safety is bound up with the safety of all of our neighbors. It has never been separable from the rule of law or from the refusal to allow any group to be treated as disposable.
Dehumanization spreads when fear replaces law and silence replaces responsibility. Democracies do not collapse all at once. They erode when violence is normalized and accountability disappears.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught us by example that indifference in the face of injustice is itself a moral failure. Faith, he insisted, must be lived publicly.
By signing this statement, we commit to doing our part to come together across differences, to build coalitions with our neighbors and to nurture community partners rooted in our shared core values. We choose relationship over isolation, and responsibility over silence, and call on local Jewish leaders, representatives and community members to speak out.
We invite you to add your name and stand with Jews in Westchester who believe that defending human dignity, due process, and democratic norms is inseparable from Jewish memory, moral responsibility and the shared destiny of all who cherish freedom and democracy.
With resolve and moral clarity,
Members of the Jewish Community of Westchester County
Signed:
1. Rabbi Shoshana Leis, Dobbs Ferry
2. Rabbi Howard Goldsmith, Rye
3. Rabbi Dina Rosenberg, Briarcliff Manor
4. Rabbi Ben Newman, Dobbs Ferry
5. Rabbi Michael Goldman, White Plains
6. Rabbi Akiva Nelson, White Plains
7. Rabbi Bob Gluck, Chappaqua
8. Rabbi Lester Bronstein, White Plains
9. Rabbi Joshua Strom, White Plains
10. Rabbi Lori Feldstein-Gardner, Hastings-on-Hudson
12. Student Rabbi Jesse Weil, Hastings-on-Hudson
13. Cantor Gerald Cohen, Yonkers
14. Micah Sifry, Hastings-on-Hudson
15. Lisa Genn, Irvington
16. Jonathan Zvi Berman Billig, Hastings-on-Hudson
17. Isabel Rachlin, Ossining
18. Carolyn Hoffman, North White Plains
19. Ellen Tattelman, Yonkers
20. Jill Rembar, Irvington
21. Stephen Koffler, Yonkers
22. Shari Cohen, Dobbs Ferry
23. Roni Schotter, Hastings-on-Hudson
24. Amy Shapiro-Kessler, Dobbs Ferry
25. Sarah Shalev, Chappaqua
26. Ben Serebin, Pleasantville, NY
27. Anabelle Shotton, Dobbs Ferry
28. Michael Goldstein, New Rochelle
29. Craig Charney, Dobbs Ferry
30. Evan Kingsley, Pleasantville
31. Patricia Goldstick, Hastings on Hudson
32. Leslie Mack, Tarrytown
33. Sue McAnanama, Yonkers
34. Jon Mermelstein , Scarsdale
35. Eugenie Rosenthal, Scarsdale
36. Joe Cohen, Ossining
37. Adrian Strizhak, Yonkers
38. Leslie Lieman, Hastings-on-Hudson
39. Dave Saphra, East Irvington
40. Ellen Shapiro, Irvington
41. Phyllis Solar, Ossining
42. Amanda Ascher, Ardsley
43. Rosanne Silverman, Baltimore
44. Rachel Izes, Katonah
45. Marcy Gray, Ossining
46. Judith Mizrahi, Dobbs Ferry
47. Judith Leipzig, Hastings on Hudson
48. Marianne Makman, New Rochelle
49. Leslie Prusnofsky MD, Somers
50. Greta Parnes, Yonkers
51. Ellen Flaks, Elmsford
52. Suzanne Burger, White Plains
53. Howard Horowitz, New Rochelle
54. Adam Auslander, Croton on Hudson
55. Sheryl Rosenberg, Irvington
56. Phyllis Saphra, Irvington
57. Jill Becker, Bedford
58. Judy Shulman, Goldens Bridge
59. Elana Shneyer, Goldens Bridge
60. David Benattar, North Salem
61. Joe Siegel, Hastings on Hudson
62. Sharon Kivowitz, Hastings on Hudson
63. Tobie Stanger, Hartsdale
64. Bruce Soloway, White Plains
65. Joel Laitman, White Plains
66. Danielle Levine, Tarrytown
67. Jane kendes, Hartsdale
68. Joey Parnes, Yonkers
69. Harry Waksberg, Hartsdale
70. Monica Rickenberg, Hastings On Hudson
71. Jen Koenig, Katonah
72. Adam Silverman, Bedford
73. Elana Goren, Yorktown
74. Bob Morrow MD, Yonkers
75. Barbara Marks, White Plains
76. Lynn Schmeidler, Dobbs Ferry
77. Gregg Ury, Dobbs Ferry
78. Patty Goodman, DOBBS FERRY
79. Brian Glick, New Rochelle
80. Rachel Ginsburg, Dobbs Ferry
81. Ilise Harris, Dobbs Ferry
82. Jill Garland, Dobbs Ferry
83. Councilmember Matt Stern, New Rochelle
84. Roberta Roos, Dobbs Ferry
85, Deborah Maher, New Rochelle
86. Marcy Lotterman, Dobbs Ferry
87. Michael Goldberg, Mamaroneck
88. Claudia Lee, New Rochelle
89. Rabbi Jesse Gallop, New Rochelle
90. Bob Volin, Yonkers
91. Susan Rutman, Yonkers
92. Maxine Golub, New Rochelle
93. Daniel Miller, New Rochelle
94. Isabel Kaplan, Edgemont
95. Michael Yellin, New Rochelle
96. David Barnett, Tarrytown
97. Leonard Newman, Dobbs Ferry
98. Randi Newman, Dobbs Ferry
99. Alyssa Winter, Hastings-on-Hudson
