George Washington Letter reading scheduled for Sunday

NEWPORT – On Aug. 18, Touro Synagogue Foundation will partner with Congregation Jeshuat Israel to host the George Washington Letter Reading, an event honoring our nation’s heritage of religious freedom. This year marks the 77th anniversary of the reading of the famous letter.

George Washington’s 1790 letter “To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport” was written after his first trip to Rhode Island as President. In his eloquent reply to a letter by Moses Seixas, warden of the local Jewish congregation, Washington attested to the new government’s commitment to freedom of religion, an entitlement he regarded as an “inherent natural right.” The federal government, Washington, stated, “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance” – borrowing the now-famous phrase from Seixas’ letter that expressed their shared vision for America’s government.

The program begins at 1 p.m. at Touro Synagogue, 85 Touro St., Newport. While in-person seating is limited, the event will be livestreamed, and all may attend virtually via a link on the Touro Synagogue Facebook page: facebook.com/TouroSynagogue.

The annual event has a long tradition of distinguished keynote speakers and letter readers, including Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. Sharon Handler Loeb, advocate for religious freedom and democracy with her husband, Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr., will read the George Washington Letter this year.

Gregg M. Amore, Rhode Island Secretary of State, will read the letter to President Washington from Moses Seixas of Newport’s Hebrew Congregation, which inspired Washington’s response.

Sian L. Beilock, president of Dartmouth College, will deliver the keynote address.

The program also includes presentations of the Judge Alexander George Teitz Award and the Aaron and Rita Slom Scholarship for Freedom and Diversity.

To learn more about President Washington's 1790 letter to the congregation that worshiped in Touro Synagogue, our nation's oldest surviving Jewish house of worship (dedicated in 1763), visit TouroSynagogue.org/Religious Freedom.

For more information or to inquire about in-person attendance, please email Meryle Cawley at meryle@tourosynagogue.org or phone 401-847-4794, ext. 207. Read more about the event in September’s Jewish Rhode Island.

Submitted by the Touro Synagogue Foundation