May 6, 2025
Background
The American Jewish community has long held a deep commitment to the ideals of democracy, liberty, religious freedom, and a robust establishment clause, forging a separation of church and state, values enshrined in the founding principles of the United States of America. For the first time in 2,600 years of Jewish Diaspora history, this promised a nation in which one’s rights as a citizen would not depend upon their religious beliefs, religious identity, or religious practice.
Jewish participation in the American Experiment dates to 1654, when the first Jews to land in New Amsterdam demanded equal rights.[i] President George Washington memorably affirmed this vision of America. In response to an inquiry from the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, President Washington assured that “the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, but demands that all men shall be free to profess and worship God in their own way.” Throughout the over 200 years since, American Jews, including members of the Reform Movement, and members of all religious minorities, have celebrated and enjoyed the fruits of this expressed commitment to a pluralistic democracy and American society. As a result, the United States has given its Jewish community more rights, more freedom, and more opportunities than we have ever known in diaspora life. It is also with this experience in mind that the American Reform Jewish Movement promotes inclusion and a culture of mutual understanding and acceptance that celebrates human dignity through our adherence to אלהים בצלם (b’tzelem Elohim), the belief that God created all people in the divine image.
Today, in violation of Washington’s vision and our embrace of it, we face threats from rising white Christian nationalism spreading throughout American society and, to our great alarm, our government. White Christian nationalism is a political and cultural ideology that seeks to merge the identity of the state with conservative evangelical Christianity. This ideology is often accompanied by a racially exclusionary vision that emphasizes white dominance in political, social, and cultural structures, rewrites US history to exaggerate the Christian religious motivation of the founders; downplays the history and the contributions on non-Christians and of communities of color; acts as though democratic processes can be viewed as secondary to achieving a “divinely ordained” social order, thus justifying anti-democratic actions as necessary to fulfill a religious mission; depicts non-white immigration and demographic changes as an existential danger to America; and tries to revamp school curricula, library holdings, and media coverage to emphasize Christian nationalist values.
Such rhetoric and advocacy intensify conditions in which antisemitism on the right flourishes. Incidents in concert with, or inspired by, white Christian nationalism have too often led to violence. They include:
- The 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia: White supremacists and Christian nationalists gathered in protest of the removal of a Confederate statue. The rally, replete with speeches and social media messages on Jewish anti-Christian conspiracies, instigated violent clashes, the death of a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, and armed individuals standing threateningly across from Reform Congregation Beth Israel. Rally-goers marched through the streets of Charlottesville, chanting, “Jews will not replace us!”
- The attack on the nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021, brought a convergence of open displays of white supremacist symbols, including Nazi and Confederate flags, with pervasive religious imagery and practices, including insurrectionists leading a fundamentalist Christian prayer in the Senate chamber, displays of large wooden crosses and Christian flags, and rioters evoking religion as the impetus for their actions.2[ii]
- The proliferation of “Great Replacement” theories also inspired other incidents of domestic terrorism, most notably: the Tree of Life—Or L’Simcha Congregation shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018, the Walmart Shooting in El Paso in 2019, and the Tops Supermarket shooting in Buffalo in 2022.
Resolution
Whereas the Jewish community and other minority faiths have thrived thanks to the American commitment to religious freedom and the separation of Church and State; and
Whereas the Jewish community has a historical understanding of the dangers posed by ideologies that seek to divide us along racial, religious, and cultural lines; and
Whereas, white Christian nationalism rhetoric and actions have contributed significantly to spurring antisemitism on the right; and
Whereas the rise of white Christian nationalism threatens the fundamental principles of religious liberty, equality, and freedom that are central to our Jewish and American identities; and
Whereas white Christian nationalism is an ideology rooted in exclusion, prejudice, and hatred that marginalizes communities that do not conform to their narrow definitions of identity, including Jews, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and religious and ethnic minorities, and
Whereas white Christian nationalists seek to redefine America falsely as a Christian nation, which is inconsistent with US history and with both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:
- Condemns the harmful ideologies of white Christian nationalism and commits to vigorously opposing policies rooted in or advancing white Christian nationalism.
- Advocates for engagement in thoughtful and constructive discussions about the dangers of white Christian nationalism, including across lines of difference and in interfaith partnerships.
- Commits to continuing to work alongside all marginalized communities, standing in solidarity with the vulnerable, confronting and dismantling systems of hate and oppression, and promoting the values of inclusion and justice.
- Reaffirms our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that ensure all American citizens feel welcomed, valued, and empowered in civic engagement and opportunity, and ensures that Jews are included wherever appropriate in DEI efforts.
- Calls on national and state elected officials to stand firmly against all forms of hate, bigotry, and extremism, and remain committed to the just and equitable society that represents the highest ideals of America.
[i] Jonathan D. Sarna, Jews in the Colonial and Early National Periods,
https://www.brandeis.edu/hornstein/sarna/americanjewishcultureandscholarship/Archive/JewsintheColoni
alandEarlyNationalPeriods.pdf.
[ii] Andrew L. Seiderl, Amanda Tyler, et al, Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021 Insurrection,
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cfea0017239e10001cd9639/t/6203f007e07275503964ab4d/1644
425230442/Christian_Nationalism_and_the_Jan6_Insurrection-2-9-22.pdf.