Dear Friend, We hope that your Yom Kippur was rich and meaningful. As you may have heard in the news, last week the U.S. Congress passed legislation that reverses the Supreme Court's recent decision to protect detainees' rights under the Geneva Conventions. The most serious flaws in the Act include:
Grants unprecedented and unchecked authority to theExecutive Branch to label as "unlawful enemy combatants" anddetain an overly broad range of people, including U.S. citizensand legal permanent residents inside the United States
Denies any independent judicial review of thesedetentions
Seeks to eliminate accountability for past violations of thelaw
Permits evidence obtained through coercion
Gives the Secretary of Defense authority to deviate fromtime-tested military justice standards for fair trials
Click here <http://ga4.org/ct/Cp1W9Yp1qXjU/> to see how your Senators voted. "This was the moment for Congress to pass legislation that reflects the fundamental values of this country. Instead, it rushed to adopt an ill-considered law which history will judge harshly," said Elisa Massimino, Washington Director of Human Rights First. Despite these flaws, we want to thank you for your inspiring commitment to stand with RHR-NA in protection of human rights. More than 50 Pennsylvania Rabbis signed a letter to Sen. Arlen Specter, who shortly thereafter became one of the most outspoken Republican critics of this legislation on habeas corpus grounds. Also, 15 Florida Rabbis wrote a similar letter to Sen. Mel Martinez. Dozens of Rabbis addressed torture in Yamim Noraim sermons and distributed Stop Torture Now cards. Many of you contacted Congress through our action alerts, and RHR-NA received notable attention in the Jewish press. Click here <http://ga4.org/ct/171W9Yp1qXjn/> to read the article in the Jewish Week of New York. We must continue. As we enter into our vulnerable sukkot this week, let us remember the thousands who remain in indefinite military detention without hope of a fair trial, and let us commit ourselves to correct our country's wrongdoing. Here's how you can make a difference:
Question your candidate on torture and the Military Commissions Act during this campaign month. Click here <http://ga4.org/ct/Vp1W9Yp1qXju/> for more information from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture including a list of questions for candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats. Clickhere <http://ga4.org/ct/C11W9Yp1qXjj/> for more information from Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice.
Post this information and list ofquestions on the website of your synagogue and community organizations. Encourage as many people as possible to raise the torture issue in public meetings and question and answer sessions with candidates.
Give a sermon or ask your Rabbi to give a sermon on torture during Sukkot. Click here <http://ga4.org/ct/Cd1W9Yp1qXjm/> for sample Sukkot sermons by Dr. Jonah Steinberg, Dean of Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, and Rabbi Margaret Holub, Mendocino Coast Jewish Community. Oct. 6-8 has been named Torture Awareness in the Pulpits Weekend by the New York Religious Campaign Against Torture (www.nyrcat.org <http://ga4.org/ct/C71W9Yp1qXjE/> ).
Order Stop Torture Now cards. Clickhere <http://ga4.org/ct/1d1W9Yp1qXjh/> to view the card. Write to office@rhr-na.org to order enough cards for your congregation.
Sign and circulate our Jewish Statement AgainstTorture, if you haven't done so already. We need your help to attain our goal of 20,000 Jewish signatures denouncing torture to present to members of Congress. Make a copy of this petition and place it in a prominent place in your synagogue. Encourage members to sign and then mail the completed petitions to our office by Nov. 15. Clickhere <http://ga4.org/ct/111W9Yp1qXjy/> for a printable version of the petition. You could also offer a link to the Jewish Statement in your synagogue bulletin or newsletter: http://ga4.org/campaign/jewishstatementtorture<http://ga4.org/ct/V71W9Yp1qXj7/> .
We hope you will continue to work with Rabbis for Human Rights in the months ahead as we seek to uphold the rule of law and ensure that these measures do not go unchallenged. May the shelter of our sukkot bring us faith and hope that we can build a better future. Hag Sukkot sameah, May God spread over us a Sukkah of peace, Rabbi Melissa Weintraub Director of Education – Rabbis for Human Rights-North America
