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January 21, 2004
Union of Orthodox
Jewish Congregations Applauds President
Bush’s State of the
Union Address Call to Codify Equal
Treatment of America’s Faith-Based
Groups as Part of
Preserving Society’s Core Institutions; President’s Veneration
of Marriage and
Family Also Lauded
Tonight, the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America – the nation’s
largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization representing nearly
1,000 synagogues across the U.S. – applauded President George W.
Bush’s call to the U.S. Congress in his State of the Union Address
to codify in legislation measures to ensure that religiously
affiliated organizations and agencies are treated equally by
federal officials and programs.
Over the past three years, President Bush’s “faith based
initiative” has identified many practices and rules in an array of
federal programs that have treated religiously affiliated agencies
in a different, and sometimes discriminatory, manner from secular
entities – solely on the basis of the religious affiliation of a
particular institution. Such disparate treatment ranged from
denying federal disaster relief funds to a Jewish day school
damaged by an earthquake to discouraging religious agencies from
applying for grants to deliver job training or low-income housing
programs. Over the past two years, President Bush has reformed
these unfair rules and practices through executive orders issued
to the relevant cabinet agencies. Tonight, in his State of the
Union Address, the President called upon Congress to secure the
equal treatment of America’s religious institutions for the
long-term by codifying these reforms in legislation.
The UOJCA has
been a strong supporter of President Bush’s faith based initiative
since its inception. UOJCA director of public policy Nathan J.
Diament issued the following statement with regard to the
President’s address this evening:
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America applauds
President Bush’s continued commitment to America’s faith- and
community-based social service agencies. Americans associated with
such organizations are working to serve their fellow man and woman
in need. Such efforts must be supported, wherever appropriate and
possible, by partnerships with the government. And no agency
should be excluded from such productive partnerships merely
because its members coalesce around a set of religiously inspired
principles. The UOJCA has been a proud partner with President Bush
since the inception of his faith based initiative, and we look
forward to our continued mutual efforts in the cause of compassion
and service.
Diament also praised President Bush’s statements venerating the
institution of traditional marriage, stating: “Judaism has long
recognized the centrality of the institution of marriage for
society and in the raising of children. We fully support President
Bush’s veneration of traditional marriage and the need to ensure
that marriage is not undermined or redefined in America.”
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