On Sunday, August 16, TSF Newport (formerly known as Touro Synagogue Foundation) will host the George Washington Letter Reading, an annual event honoring the nation’s heritage of religious freedom and diversity. This year marks the 79th annual reading of the famous letter and the second consecutive year the event has been held at Newport’s Old Colony House.
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 affirmed the new government’s commitment to religious liberty, 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 will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Old Colony House at the head of Washington Square in the heart of Colonial Newport. While in-person seating is limited, the event will be live-streamed, and all may attend virtually via a link on TSF Newport’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/TSFNewportRI.
The annual event has a long tradition of distinguished keynote speakers and letter readers, including U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.
This year, the George Washington Letter will be read by KEITH STOKES, Vice-Chair of TSF Newport, Associate Director of the Rhode Island Division of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, and Rhode Island Historian Laureate.
SAM SHAMOON, longtime TSF Newport board member, will read Moses Seixas’ letter to President Washington, which inspired the President’s famous response.
RACHEL LASER, President & CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church & State, will deliver the keynote address.
To learn more about President Washington’s 1790 letter to the congregation that worshiped in Touro Synagogue—the nation’s oldest surviving synagogue, dedicated in 1763—visit TSFNewport.org/ReligiousFreedom.
For more information or to inquire about attending in person, contact Meryle Cawley at tsfn@tsfnewport.org or (401) 847-4794, ext. 207.
