Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 6/29/2018

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P I T TS B U R G H

June 29, 2018 | 16 Tammuz 5778

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Candlelighting 8:36 p.m. | Havdalah 9:44 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 26 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Reception for Israeli diplomat draws contingent of protesters

Local leaders at interfaith rally protest family separations

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Doyle co-sponsors bill limiting funding to Israel By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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of people gathered at Sixth Presbyterian Church in Squirrel Hill to show solidarity with the recently detained children, whose fate remains unclear. With members of the crowd holding signs reading “children belong with their parents” and “reunite the families,” rabbis, pastors and immigrants spoke in a defiant tone about the state of immigration law in the country. “Our hearts are broken to see our fellow human beings treated with cruelty,” said Rabbi Seth Adelson of Conregation Beth Shalom. “Our hearts are broken when we hear of small children being torn from their mothers’ arms.” Rabbi Jamie Gibson of Temple Sinai echoed those sentiments. “It says in our holiest book, the Torah: ‘Don’t eat certain animals.’ It says it twice,” Gibson told the crowd. “It says to take care of the … stranger in your midst 36 times.” After the event, attendees lit candles and headed outside — braving wind and torrential

.S. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-District 14) has signed on as a co-sponsor of legislation that would sanction Israel for its purported “military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.” The legislation, introduced last November by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), has been endorsed by a slew of organizations that support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)  Mike Doyle movement against Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Israel, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Arab American Institute and Jewish Voice for Peace. Also endorsing the legislation is the BDS-supporting Defense of Children International-Palestine, a Ramallah-based NGO. According to a June 8 report in the Jerusalem Post, many of DCI-P’s officials and board members are linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organization in the United States, European Union, Canada and Israel. The bill seeks to put U.S. pressure on Israel by threatening to withhold defense funding unless Israel improves its treatment of Palestinian children that are detained for suspected criminal or terrorist activities. The resolution is silent as to Hamas’ treatment of Palestinian children and ignores the terrorist group’s pervasive use of children as human shields and other abusive tactics, maltreatment of children by the Palestinian Authority, or the issue of children violently

Please see Families, page 14

Please see Legislation, page 14

Almog Elijis offered a nuanced view of Israeli accomplishments despite opposition. Page 2 LOCAL Synagogues and inclusivity

 Officers take a group of Central American asylum seekers into custody near McAllen, Texas. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

Local shuls strategize on making congregations welcoming. Page 3 LOCAL The ‘American Plan’ Local author’s book examines little known quarantine policy. Page 5

By Jonah Berger | Chronicle Intern

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embers of the Pittsburgh Jewish community have mobilized in opposition to the Trump administration’s now-cancelled policy of separating children from their parents when detained at the southern border, a practice that drew widespread criticism from political and religious groups across the country. The policy, an outgrowth of the “zerotolerance” approach on immigration the administration implemented in April, led to the removal of upwards of 2,500 migrant children from their parents. Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the separation of families and requiring instead that parents and children be detained together indefinitely. The order, though, could violate the 1997 Flores Settlement prohibiting federal authorities from detaining children for longer than 20 days, raising the prospect of legal challenges to the new policy. At an interfaith rally on June 20, hundreds

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