Today’s huddled masses

In 1882, a 33-year-old New Yorker began writing a series of open letters to her fellow Jews in which she described the responsibilities and challenges that came with the unfamiliar notion — among Jews, anyway — of economic and even political privilege. “The fact that the Jews of America are civilly and religiously emancipated,” she wrote, “should be, I take it, our strongest impelling motive for working towards the emancipation of our oppressed brethren.”

The next year, Emma Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus,” whose famous lines “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” became a watchword for generations of immigrants.

Lazarus’ prose and poetry combine to make a powerful case for Jewish involvement in America’s immigration debate — even if she were writing amidst a Jewish refugee crisis and we have entered an era in which Jews make up only a fraction of the “huddled masses” coming to America. Lazarus understood that in achieving a degree of power in the New World, Jews had not only the responsibility but the great opportunity of turning the Torah’s calls for justice into reality.

America finds itself in the middle of another immigration crisis and a deeply partisan debate. The Jewish community, however, at least as it is represented by its largest advocacy organizations, is generally of one mind on the topic. The Jewish Task Force for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a broad coalition of 20 Jewish organizations, is seeking a smooth path to citizenship for millions of hard-working immigrants already in this country and on their way, and an end to administrative backlogs and deportations that divide families.

Coalition leaders like the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society match these words with strong action, pushing hard for legislation that balances law enforcement, economic justice, homeland security, and, especially appropriate on this Labor Day, the needs of employees and employers.

Consensus, however, does not mean unanimity, and there is still room within the Jewish community for debate on these issues. But disagreement exempts none of us from engaging in the debate and living up to our responsibilities as Jews.

On Thursday, Sept. 7, thousands will rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform and immigrants’ rights, at a rally in Washington, DC.

To find out more about the rally, and buses that are scheduled to leave from locations in Manhattan, call 212-213-2113.