George Washington's Letter Facebook Post
Like many minority religious communities at the dawn of the new nation, early Jewish Americans were concerned about their rights and freedoms – what kind of leader would they have? How would they be treated? To the joy of the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, President George Washington assured them that they would “behold a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”
Washington made precedent-setting statements about religious freedom in this historic letter, now considered the most important artifact in American Jewish history. “It is now no more that toleration is spoken of,” he assured Jews; their presence would not be merely tolerated, but religious liberty would be an inherent natural right of American citizens. Washington closed with his favorite Biblical verse: “while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid” (Micah 4:4).
#OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
Photo Credit: Letter from George Washington to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, 1790. National Museum of American Jewish History, Courtesy of the Morris Morgenstern Foundation.
http://socialpresskit.com/facebook/559-12904
George Washington's Letter Facebook Post
George Washington's Letter Facebook Post
Like many minority religious communities at the dawn of the new nation, early Jewish Americans were concerned about their rights and freedoms – what kind of leader would they have? How would they be treated? To the joy of the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, President George Washington assured them that they would “behold a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” Washington made precedent-setting statements about religious freedom in this historic letter, now considered the most important artifact in American Jewish history. “It is now no more that toleration is spoken of,” he assured Jews; their presence would not be merely tolerated, but religious liberty would be an inherent natural right of American citizens. Washington closed with his favorite Biblical verse: “while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid” (Micah 4:4). #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Letter from George Washington to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, 1790. National Museum of American Jewish History, Courtesy of the Morris Morgenstern Foundation.
http://socialpresskit.com/facebook/559-12904