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From:Rabbi Ilana Goldhaber-Gordon <br />To:publiccomment <br />Subject:Revised Comment on Item 7.A <br />Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 4:33:19 PM <br />You don't often get email from rabbiilana@gmail.com. Learn why this is important <br />If possible, please read this comment rather than the one I sent last night. Thankyou! <br />Dear Esteemed Council Members, <br />I am writing to express my support for the proposed ordinance to extend Redwood <br />City's current protection for immigrants, so-called "sanctuary". <br />I write to you as a rabbi, as the granddaughter of immigrants, and as a citizen. <br />As a rabbi, I do not claim to write on behalf of the synagogue community. Oursynagogue, Congregation Beth Jacob, is politically diverse. Some of my congregantsagree with me on this issue, and some do not. Our diversity is our strength, and I <br />trust that this ordinance will not pass without a robust conversation. <br />And -- as a rabbi, I am guided by the repeated, insistent demands of our sacredtexts, that we show kindness to the foreigner. Use of communal resources toimprison individuals whose only crime is their foreign status, seems to me aviolation of Jewish ethics: "The foreigner who lives among you, you shall love asyourself" (Leviticus 19:34.) <br />As the granddaughter of immigrants, my story is typical of many in the Jewish <br />community. Had this country not taken in my grandparents, my family would likely <br />have perished. Now I must speak up in defense of the next generation of <br />immigrants. <br />And as a local citizen, this ordinance just makes sense to me. I do not reside inRedwood City, but I work there nearly every day. I want Redwood City to remain asafe and welcoming place. Our government agencies depend on relationships oftrust with the local community. When that trust erodes, everyone suffers. <br />The one piece I question is the use of the term sanctuary. I am aware that this term has become <br />politically loaded. I hope that the council can pass every protection possible for our immigrant <br />community, and avoid language that might provoke unnecessary strife. <br />With gratitude and appreciation, <br />Rabbi Ilana