The Constitution Cannot Take a Sabbatical

News & Information for the Weeks of

November 22nd- December 4th, 2020

The Constitution Cannot Take a Sabbatical

Rabbi A.D. Motzen

National Director of State Relations

Last week, the United States Supreme Court granted an emergency preliminary injunction to Agudath Israel of America and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn in a landmark vindication of religious rights. The case challenged New York State’s arbitrary limit of 10 or 25 individuals in houses of worship regardless of the building’s capacity. In his concurring opinion, Justice Gorsuch warned that “Even if the Constitution has taken a a holiday during this pandemic, it cannot become a sabbatical.”

To read the Court’s decision and Agudath Israel’s statement, including encouraging our members to continue following sound health practices, see here.

Despite the pandemic, Agudath Israel’s annual convention did NOT take a sabbatical, but we did have to move it to a virtual event available via phone at 718-298-2077 or online at www.agudahconvention.org You can still listen to or watch all of the sessions and special video presentations.

We look forward to next year when we can once again meet in person and receive inspiration not only from the speakers, but from interacting with all of our friends and supporters.

Last Friday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed SB 89 (Huffman) which included an expansion of the state’s school voucher program. The EdChoice Scholarship Program helps nearly 50,000 students attend the school of their choice including Jewish day schools. Kudos to Rabbi Yitz Frank, director of Agudath Israel of Ohio who worked closely with Ohio’s legislative leaders to ensure a positive outcome. A special thank you to the thousands of parents who wrote letters, sent emails and came to testify earlier this year when aspects of the program were being threatened.

Our New Jersey director Rabbi Avi Schnall recently presented to an audience of more than 400 faith and community leaders at a video conference hosted by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and New Jersey Commissioner of Health Judy Persichilli. Governor Murphy praised Rabbi Schnall as “a great friend and leader” who worked closely with the Governor’s staff to battle the surge in coronavirus cases in Lakewood. To watch the video click her e.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Agudath Israel’s leadership has issued many statements encouraging masking, social distancing, and other public health measures which can be found here and Rabbi Zwiebel devoted much of his convention keynote address to this topic.

Action Alert: Please contact your member of Congress and ask them to support a much needed increase to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). Under NSGP, nonprofits are provided up to $100,000 worth of assistance for various types of equipment and for personnel to better secure entities at high risk of terrorist attack.

Having experienced increasing threats and incidents of violence – including murderous attacks in recent years in Pittsburgh, Poway, Monsey and Jersey City – we all know that the Jewish community has a strong stake in this program and must vigorously support Congress’s efforts to strengthen it.

As the violence has increased, Agudah and other groups have been successful over the years in urging Congress to authorize and appropriate more funding, protecting more institutions, and reaching more cities, for federal security grants. The current allocation is $90 million.

But we are at a crossroads.

The House Appropriations Committee version would quadruple current levels to $360 million. As House-Senate negotiations over the bill will move forward, we must convey the strong message to Appropriations Committee negotiators to boost NSGP funding significantly. Agudath Israel and other organizations, under the coordination of the Jewish Federations of North America, fought hard to create and maintain the NSGP program. National and local involvement, working together, brought the program to where it is today, and we can move it further ahead. Please click

here to email your member of Congress.

Are you a current resident of Georgia or a former resident living overseas? Your vote in the January 5th runoff election may determine which party controls the US Senate. The Georgia Orthodox Voter Project, spearheaded by Agudath Israel of America, recently launched a nonpartisan get out the vote effort to ensure that every eligible voter in the Orthodox Jewish community is registered and votes in this critical election. For more information got to www.GeorgiaOrthodoxVoter.org

Earlier this week, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Village of Airmont “to rectify Airmont’s renewed efforts to discriminate against its Orthodox Jewish community.”

Agudath Israel has long protested the use of zoning laws to discriminate against Orthodox Jews and its Washington Office played an active role in crafting and promoting passage of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), under which this lawsuit was filed.

In the case of Airmont, it was Attorney General Barr’s decision to file a civil suit against Airmont for creating zoning laws with the intent to hamper the growth of the Orthodox Jewish community in the Village, during his first stint as Attorney General during the George H.W. Bush administration 30 years ago. In 2019, the Agudah raised the issue, again, with Mr. Barr, during its National Leadership Mission to Washington, who assured the group that his Justice Department would do everything it could to ensure American citizens are not ‘zoned out’ of neighborhoods because of their faith.

Agudath Israel is grateful that the Justice Department is prepared to take all steps necessary to fight religious discrimination and ensure religious liberty.

Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel’s Vice President of Government Affairs and Washington Director, said, “RLUIPA protects the rights of religious communities around the country, and we are looking forward to a satisfactory resolution to this case. Agudath Israel and others worked so hard to get RLUIPA passed because we knew how valuable it would be in fighting actions that too often mask religious bias. Kudos to the Justice Department for rightfully making this a priority.

To read our full press release: Click here

Join Our Mailing List

Agudath Israel of America's division of government affairs is engaged in advocacy and legislative outreach activities on the local, state, and federal levels. In so doing, Agudath Israel seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of observant Jews and their growing network of educational and religious institutions; and to offer a uniquely Orthodox Jewish perspective on contemporary issues of public concern.

CORE SERVICES