Press Releases

The Rabbinical Alliance of America—Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis—joins America in mourning the three African Americans who were fatally shot by a gunman motivated by hate on August 24, 2023, at a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General Store. The murderer used racial slurs, left behind a racist screed and drew swastikas on his firearm. His actions were racially motivated and his victims are all African Americans.  [...Click headline above for more...] 

The Rabbinical Alliance of America — Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American Orthodox rabbis — joins Klal Yisroel in mourning the passing of HaGaon HaRav Aharon Schechter, ZT’L, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin. [...Click headline above for more...] 

On Sunday, June 18, 2023, the Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim, gathered together with family and friends at Congregation AAA Sfard of Canarsie, where the venerable Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Serebyanski serves as Rabbi, to commemorate the 20th Yahrzeit of its legendary Executive Vice-President, Rabbi Nachum Zvi Josephy, ZT’L, HaRav Nachum Zvi Ben HaRav Chaim Josephy. [...Click headline above for more...] 

The Rabbinical Alliance of America—Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis—applauds Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s May 30, 2023, announcement that Staten Island resident Suleiman Othman pled guilty to a hate crime for attacking a Jewish man for refusing to remove a sweatshirt with an IDF emblem. The attack was caused by pure hatred. With antisemitism growing in the United States, and antisemitic attacks rising in New York City, this conviction is a small but important victory in the big fight against hatred.  [...Click headline above for more...] 

The Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim—representing over 950 American rabbis—condemns the appalling commencement speech given by Fatima Mousa Mohammed, a graduate speaking at the City University of New York (CUNY) Law School’s commencement on May 12, 2023. In addition to attacking the State of Israel, the offensive speech also called for a “revolution” to take on the legal system’s “white supremacy’’ and ripped the “fascist” NYPD and military. Mohammed’s tirade was factually inaccurate and morally offensive. [...Click headline above for more...] 

The Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim—representing over 950 American rabbis—calls on the Russian government to do immediate justice by releasing Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter being unlawfully held by Russian authorities. Gershkovich is a Jew who was born to American immigrants from the Soviet Union, where his parents and other Jews suffered persecution and repression for their religion. His grandmother would cover the windows with blankets before lighting Friday night candles in order to avoid detection and subsequent persecution. Gershkovich was arrested approximately two months ago by Russian authorities on fabricated espionage charges which both he and the U.S. government deny. Under the direction of President Joe Biden, the State Department has designated him as “wrongfully detained.” It is an ominous sign that a specifically Jewish man is the only American arrested by Russians on the charge of spying since the end of the Cold War. [...Click headline above for more...] 

The Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim—representing over 950 American rabbis— commends President Joe Biden on the unveiling of a comprehensive national plan to fight antisemitism. This plan, referred to as the “whole of society” approach, is hailed by the President as the most ambitious and comprehensive effort led by the US government in the history of combating antisemitism in America. [...Click headline above for more...] 

The Rabbinical Alliance of America—Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American rabbis—applauds Assembly Members Daniel Rosenthal (D-Qns.) and Nily Rozic (D-Qns.) for leading the charge at the New York State Assembly in protecting Israel from the woke socialist left.
Unfortunately, a great travesty has occurred. Some New York State politicians have adopted sharply anti-Israel and anti-Semitic positions. Recently, Democratic Socialist lawmakers Jabari Brisport (D-B’klyn) and Zohran Mamdani (D-Qns.) proposed legislation that would punish New York-based charities that engage in “unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.”
These lawmakers have introduced the “Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act” — legislation aimed at barring New York-based charitable groups from engaging in “unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.” The proposed legislation would give the state attorney general the authority to revoke a charity’s tax-exempt status if it is involved in aiding the expansion of Israeli settlements. This proposed legislation follows recent skirmishes in which Israel defended its civilian population from terrorists in the Gaza strip who relentlessly and mercilessly have engaged in shelling Israel with rockets.
In a memo in support of their bill, Assemblyman Mamdani and Senator Brisport shockingly said, “these settlements play an important role in entrenching Israel’s apartheid rule over millions of Palestinians who are forced to live in enclaves surrounded by checkpoints and with a separate set of rules and rights based on their ethnicity.” Brisport and Mamdani were blatant in their anti-Semitic tropes when they claimed that these organizations “masquerade as charities” and “funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to ethnic cleansing.”
“Many of those who lead the settlement enterprise, including its most harmful and radical elements, are actually funded by organizations here in New York State. Although they are in direct violation of international and human rights law, the organizations masquerade as charities. This allows them to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to ethnic cleansing while enjoying tax-exempt status in New York, meaning that New York State is effectively subsidizing these atrocities,” the lawmakers said.
However, to date approximately 70 members of the Assembly — including Speaker Carl Heastie — have signed on in support of Israel, thanks to the efforts spearheaded by Assembly Members Daniel Rosenthal and Nily Rozic. These pro-Israel lawmakers drew a line and made it crystal clear that this draconian proposed bill would, if approved, punish charitable Jewish organizations that provide aid to the needy and emergency care for victims of terrorism. [...Click headline above for more...]