COMMUNITY 76th reading of Washington’s letter to honor religious freedom, public service

NEWPORT — On Aug. 20, the Touro Synagogue Foundation and Congregation Jeshuat Israel will host the George Washington Letter Reading, an annual event honoring our nation’s heritage of religious freedom.

Washington’s August 1790 letter “To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport” was written during his first trip to Rhode Island as president and affirmed the new federal government’s absolute commitment to the free exercise of religion, which he regarded as an “inherent natural right.” The federal government, Washington wrote, “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

The theme of this year’s event is public service.

The annual event has a long tradition of distinguished keynote speakers and letter readers, including Supreme Court Justices Ruth

Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.

Nellie Gorbea, former Rhode Island secretary of state and a visiting senior fellow in democracy and cybersecurity at Salve Regina University, has been selected for this honor this year, the 76th reading of the famous letter.

Angela Johnson, a social studies teacher at Rogers High School and the 20212022 Newport Public Schools

Teacher of the Year, will read the letter that Moses Seixas, of Newport’s Hebrew Congregation, sent to President Washington, which inspired Washington’s famous response.

David Cicilline, former longtime U.S. congressman and the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, will deliver the keynote address.

The event will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20, at

Touro Synagogue, 85 Touro St., Newport. While in-person seating is limited, the event will be live-streamed, and all may attend virtually via a link on the Touro Synagogue Facebook page: facebook. com/TouroSynagogue. For more information, email meryle@tourosynagogue.org or call (401) 8474794, ext. 207.

Submitted by the Touro Synagogue Foundation