WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Washington director of the National Council of Jewish Women was among those arrested during an immigration reform sit-in at the U.S. Capitol.
Sammie Moshenberg represented NCJW and the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, an alliance of 26 domestic policy groups, at the sit-in Thursday by more than 100 women.
We Belong Together, a coalition of women’s groups who favor immigration reform, organized the demonstration.
Moshenberg and the others were arrested by Capitol Police in the morning and were released by the evening.
Comprehensive immigration reform, while garnering majority support in the Senate, has been stymied by opponents in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Separately, more than 1,200 rabbis from across the denominational spectrum wrote Thursday to every member of Congress urging immigration reform.
The letter, timed for the High Holidays and organized by the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, was signed by leaders of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements as well as rabbis from across the country, including a number from the Orthodox movement.
It called for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, a reduction in family reunification wait times, effective but “humanitarian” border protection policies, safeguards for legal working migrants, and “welcoming” and “humane” policies for asylum seekers.
Sammie Moshenberg, Washington director of the National Council of Jewish Women, at an immigration reform sit-in at the U.S. Capitol, Sept. 12, 2013. (We Belong Together)
