Religious leaders from the Bay Area, including 11 rabbis, convened in San Francisco on Nov. 12 for the “National Day of Witness,” a nationwide campaign urging the U.S. government to end its use of torture.
The clergy — members of the Bay Area Religious Campaign Against Torture — gathered at Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s offices to gain congressional support in persuading President-elect Barack Obama to sign an executive order that would dismantle the torture practices created by the Bush administration.
“We want to impress upon the leaders in the Senate and the House that this should be Obama’s top priority,” said Rabbi Roberto Graetz of Temple Isaiah in Lafayette. “We’re trying to create as much momentum as possible.”
The day’s agenda included urging legislators to create a select committee of Congress to investigate the use of torture by U.S. agencies since Sept. 11 and allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to access anyone detained by the U.S. Government.
Similar meetings occurred throughout the country, coinciding with a solemn procession in front of the White House. Many participants carried anti-torture banners that have been displayed outside their places of worship for the past few months.
Graetz said he’s been working on anti-torture efforts for the past few years. His congregation also endorsed the “We Can End Torture Now” campaign, a petition letter to the presidential candidates asking for an end to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
“One of our principles in Judaism is grounded in the idea that we are created in the image of God,” Graetz said. “An act of torture is a defacement of that image.”