To the editor:
Not long after Washington was elected as our first president, the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, sent him a letter of congratulations. In that letter, the congregation wrote of their hope that the new nation would tolerate religious minorities, like Jews. Washington replied, thanking the congregation for their congratulations. He continued by saying toleration is no longer spoken of because every citizen of the nation enjoys the same natural rights. The United States, he said, gives to bigotry no sanction. With anti-Semitism rearing its ugly head and hatred so rife in our political discourse, we would do well to embrace Washington’s words. Doing so will ensure the continuing success of the American Experiment begun so ably by Washington and the entire Revolutionary generation.
David Edelstein Leland
