Nearly 100 New Jersey religious leaders have signed a letter urging Gov. Chris Christie as "a man of faith" to reconsider his widely-publcized statements that the nation refuse all Syrian refugees, even "orphans under age 5."
TRENTON -- Nearly 100 New Jersey religious leaders have signed a letter urging Gov. Chris Christie as "a man of faith" to reconsider his widely-publicized statements that the nation refuse all Syrian refugees, even "orphans under age 5."
With worldwide fears inflamed by the Nov. 13 terror attacks on Paris, the Republican governor and presidential contender has said the country's "broken" screening and monitoring system cannot be trusted. He wrote to President Obama saying New Jersey will not participate in any resettlement activities that places Syrian refugees here.
"The fact is that we need for appropriate vetting, and I don't think that orphans under 5 should be admitted to the United States at this point," Christie said on conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt's syndicated radio show on Nov. 16.
RELATED: Christie: No Syrian refugees, not even 'orphans under age 5'
Alarmed by the governor's statements, Rabbi Jesse M. Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange said he asked congregants how he should respond. The result is a letter sent Tuesday, signed by 95 clergy members from across the state and from many faiths.
In it, they respectfully but firmly tell the governor his statements "do not speak for us, our faiths, or our communities."
"We urge you, a man of faith, to reconsider your position so that New Jersey can be a state that we are all proud of -- a state that answers the prophetic call to welcome the stranger," according to the letter obtained by NJ Advance Media.
Christie is a Roman Catholic.
"While we respect the deep security concerns that may be present when someone enters this country and seeks asylum, we urge you to not conflate two separate and important issues," the letter reads. "We understand the importance of keeping our residents safe. However, we ask that you see these Syrian refugees as we do, as our faiths do, and as the world does: as individuals fleeing from terror, not perpetrators of terror."
Some 12 million Syrians have been forced from their homes due to Syria's raging civil war, with half of them children, according to the Christian relief charity, WorldVision.
The United States has accepted roughly 1,800 refugees between Jan. 1 and Nov. 15, including 75 that have settled in New Jersey, according to the State Department's Refugee Processing Center.
"Our faiths not only command us to love our neighbors; they also command us to love the stranger," the letter continued.
"The Hebrew Bible commands: "Love the stranger for you yourselves were once strangers" (Deut. 10:19). The Christian Bible tells us: "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Matthew 25:35). The Quran teaches: "be good to the parents and to relatives, to orphans and to the needy; to the neighbor that is near and also to the stranger that is far" (An-Nisaa 4:36).
Christie's comments have raised his public profile as he continues to scrap for supporters in a crowded field of Republican presidential candidates. He has made daily appearances on TV and radio programs to discuss his views on the issue.
In the Nov. 19 Washington Post, conservative columnist George Will praised Christie's response to the ISIS attacks in Paris. "Pay particular attention to his affirmation of the foundational conservative belief in the indispensability, the sovereignty and the prerogatives of nationhood," Will wrote.
Olitzky said he hopes the letter is seen as an invitation to discuss the governor's position with an "ad hoc group" of clergy who represent their own constituency. He said he is optimistic they could change Christie's mind if given the chance.
While Christie made the comments in the context of the campaign, "It's not my place to address him as a candidate," Olitzky said. "My concern is about his comments as the governor of our state."
The letter is signed, "In Faith" by:
Rabbi Jesse M. Olitzky of Congregation Beth El, South Orange;
Abdul Mubarak-Rowe of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-NJ;
Rev. Canon Dr. Sandye Wilson, of Episcopal Church of St Andrew and Holy Communion, South Orange;
Rabbi Dan Cohen of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, South Orange;
Rabbi Alexandra Klein of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, South Orange;
Rabbi Greg Litcofsky of Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, Livingston;
Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz of Temple B'nai Abraham, Livingston;
Rabbi Clifford M. Kulwin of Temple B'nai Abraham, Livingston;
Ashraf Latif of the NIA Masjid and Community Center, Newark;
Rabbi Cecelia Beyer of Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael, Springfield;
Rabbi Mark Cooper of Oheb Shalom Congregation, South Orange;
Cantor Erica Lipitz of Oheb Shalom Congregation, South Orange;
Sr. Bonnie McMenamin, SSJ of Diocese of Camden, Camden;
Rev. Kiran Young Wimberly of Slackwood Presbyterian Church;
Pastor Ryan Imer of Slackwood Presbyterian Church, Trenton;
Rabbi Renee Edelman of Temple Sha'arey Shalom, Springfield;
Sr. Veronica Roche, SSJ of St. Joseph Pro Cathedral, Camden;
Rabbi Adam Feldman of The Jewish Center, Princeton;
Rabbi Emeritus Gerald Zelizer of Congregation Neve Shalom, Metuchen;
Rev. Bernard Poppe, of St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood;
Rabbi Azriel Fellner of Livingston;
Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu of Teaneck;
Rev. Canon Dr. Francisco Pozo of Christ Episcopal Church, Trenton;
Rabbi Robert Rubin of Temple Beth Or, Brick;
Rev. Jeffrey E. Ugoretz of Christ Presbyterian Church, Hamilton;
Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein of Highland Park;
Rev. Jan Willem van der Werff of The First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck, Princeton Junction;
Rev. Joanna Hollis of Christ Episcopal Church, New Brunswick;
Rabbi George Nudell of Scotch Plains;
Kadam Peter Kurczynski of Dharmachakra Buddhist Center, Vauxhall;
Rabbi Edward Friedman of Freehold Jewish Center, Freehold;
Pastor Daniel K. Eisenberg of St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church, Trenton;
Rabbi E. Noach Shapiro of Montclair;
Rabbi Esther Reed of Rutgers University Hillel, New Brunswick;
Rev. Paul Rhebergen of Ewing Presbyterian Church, Ewing;
Rabbi David Greenstein of Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Montclair;
Sr. Regina Chassar, SSJ, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Tenafly;
Rabbi Leonard Levin, South Orange;
Pastor Valencia Norman of First Presbyterian & Trinity Church, South Orange;
Rabbi Donald A. Weber of Temple Rodeph Torah, Marlboro;
Rev. Larry Smith of First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County, Frenchtown;
Rabbi Joseph M. Forman of Or Chadash, Flemington;
Rev. Sharyl M. Dixon of Kingston Presbyterian Church, Kingston;
Rabbi Doug Sagal of Temple Emanu-El, Westfield;
Sr. Ruth Bolarte, IHM of Diocese of Metuchen, Metuchen;
Rabbi Julie Roth of Center for Jewish Life - Princeton Hillel, Princeton;
Rev. Bradford L. Motta of Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church, Maplewood;
Rabbi Marc Kline of Monmouth Reform Temple, Tinton Falls;
Rabbi Emerita Sally Priesand of Monmouth Reform Temple, Tinton Falls;
Rev. David A. Davis of Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton;
Rev. Lauren McFeaters of Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton;
Rabbi Elyse Frishman of The Barnert Temple, Franklin Lakes;
Rabbi Joel Mosbacher of Beth Haverim Shir Shalom, Mahwah;
Rev. Canon Jack Belmont of All Saints' Church, Princeton;
Rabbi Debra Hachen of Temple Beth-El, Jersey City;
Rev. Karen Hernandez-Granzen of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Trenton;
Rabbi Paul Jacobson of Temple Avodat Shalom, River Edge;
Rabbi Paula Feldstein of Temple Avodat Shalom, River Edge;
Rev. Dawn Adamy of Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, Hillsborough;
Rabbi Jordan Millstein of Temple Sinai of Bergen County, Tenafly;
Rabbi Emeritus Bruce Block of Temple Sinai of Bergen County, Tenafly;
Rabbi Justus Baird of Auburn Seminary, Princeton;
Rev. Rick Boyer of Prospect Presbyterian Church, Maplewood;
Rabbi Marc Disick of Temple Beth Am, Bayonne;
Rabbi Emeritus Gordon Gladstone of Temple Beth Am, Bayonne;
Rev. David DeSmith of St. David's Episcopal Church, Kinnelon;
Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, Short Hills;
Rabbi Laurence Groffman of Temple Sholom of West Essex, Cedar Grove;
Rev. Molly Dykstra of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Trenton;
Rabbi Eric B. Wisnia of Congregation Beth Chaim, Princeton Junction;
Rabbi Adena Blum of Congregation Beth Chaim, Princeton Junction;
Rev. David M. Horst of Central Unitarian Church of Paramus;
Rabbi Randall Mark of Shomrei Torah Wayne Conservative Congregation, Wayne;
Rabbi Emeritus Richard Hammerman of Congregation B'nai Israel, Toms River;
Rev. Linda Owens of Bound Brook Presbyterian Church, Bound Brook;
Rabbi Robert Tobin of B'nai Shalom, West Orange;
Rev. Robert H. Legnani of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, Delran;
Sr. Delores Clerico, SSJ of Catholic Community of Christ Our Light, Cherry Hill;
Rabbi Helaine Ettinger of Millburn;
Rev. Lawrence E. Frizzell of Seton Hall University, South Orange;
Rabbi Mary Zamore of the Women's Rabbinic Network, Westfield;
Rabbi Bennett Miller of Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, New Brunswick;
Sr. Therese Dowd, SSJ of St. Rose Convent, Belmar;
Rabbi Rachel Hertzman of Montclair;
Rev. Nelson H. Rabell-Gonzalez of Apostles' Lutheran Church, Turnersville;
Rabbi Barry Schwartz of Congregation Adas Emuno, Leonia;
Rabbi Arnold Gluck of Temple Beth-El, Hillsborough;
Rabbi Michael Pont of Marlboro Jewish Center, Marlboro;
Sr. Sheila Murphy, SSJ of Wildwood;
Rev. Robert J. Gregorio of Glassboro;
Rev. Dr. Anthony P. Johnson of The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood;
Imam Raouf Zaman of Muslim Center of Middlesex County, Piscataway;
Pastor Molege Desir of the South Orange-Vailsburg United Methodist Church, South Orange
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.