In George Washington’s famous letter to the Jewish congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, he promised an America where Jews and other religious minorities were not merely tolerated, but lived with full equality under a government “which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” Quoting a favorite phrase of his from the book of Micah, Washington expressed his hope in a new nation where “every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree.” David French considers the recent wave of attacks on American Jews in light of this remarkable document:
It is no coincidence that the United States is home to the second-largest Jewish community in the world. The presence of a thriving Jewish community is evidence that American aspirations could become reality. Jewish safety and security is thus deeply rooted in the American founding. It’s part of our nation’s origin story. But it’s hard to think of a greater contradiction of the principles of Micah 4:4 and of Washington’s hope that Jews would enjoy the “good will” of America’s inhabitants than brutal attacks in the street, inflicted solely on the basis of faith.
This much we know, however: if the founding pledge of safety and freedom for Jewish citizens was a leading indicator that the American promise would be kept, then rising danger to Jewish citizens should be cause for profound alarm.
Our nation’s first president told believers in one of the world’s most persecuted religions that they would have a home in this land. That founding promise helped define this nation. Breaking that promise would define us again, but in an entirely different way. America cannot be America when Jews are beaten in the streets.
Read more on Dispatch: https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/can-america-be-america-when-jews