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Comments (0)A federal judge’s injunction of parts of the new Arizona immigration law is being praised by several Jewish organizations.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton issued a ruling Wednesday delaying the part of the law that would require local law-enforcement officials to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws. The judge also nixed enforcement of the provisions requiring immigrants to carry papers and banning illegal immigrants from looking for employment in public places.
“We commend Judge Bolton for calling into question the constitutionality of Arizona’s ill-conceived immigration law,” said Gideon Aronoff, president and CEO of HIAS, the American Jewish community’s leading immigration organization. “The law would cause all Arizonans to live under a cloud of suspicion and fear, and lead to immigrant distrust of the police.
“While today’s news is encouraging, we caution that Judge Bolton’s ruling is only a preliminary action and does not put an end to the possibility of widespread racial profiling in Arizona. We look forward to a court decision that permanently halts this law.”
The American Jewish Committee also praised the ruling.
Supporters of the law are vowing to fight on, while similar legislation is being pushed by politicians in as many as 18 states, according to The Associated Press.
A New Name for Conservative Judaism?
The leader of Conservative Judaism’s flagship institution said the movement is debating a name change.
Arnold Eisen, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, made the comment in a July 22 meeting with reporters and editors at the Forward, the newspaper reported.
“I’m open to it. I’m open to it,” Eisen reportedly said when asked about the possibility of a name change.
The newspaper quoted Eisen as saying that the “leading candidate right now” is the name “Masorti,” the Hebrew word for “traditional,” which is the name Conservative Judaism goes by in Israel and other countries outside of North America.
Ex-CIA Chief: Path to Iran Strike ‘Seems Inexorable’
A former American spy chief says the path to U.S. military action against Iran is inescapable.
Michael Hayden, who headed the CIA under President George W. Bush, told CNN on Sunday that a strike “seems inexorable” because Iran has not been deterred from developing a nuclear weapon.
“In my personal thinking, I have begun to consider that that may not be the worst of all possible outcomes,” Hayden said.
He said an Iran on the verge of a nuclear capability would be as destabilizing to the Middle East as an Iran with a nuclear weapon.
Hayden said that under Bush, a strike was not seriously considered as an option.