NEWPORT The 78th annual George Washington Letter Reading, which has been conducted at Touro Synagogue for generations, will now take place at the Old Colony House at the tip of Washington Square in historic Newport on Sunday, August 17, at 1 p.m.
The main focus of the event is Washington’s famous letter, which he wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 18, 1790, following his visit. Washington outlined the new government’s dedication to religious freedom in his response to a letter written by Moses Seixas, the warden of the local Jewish congregation.
In the well-known letter, Washington stated that the US government, which does not punish intolerance or aid persecution, only asks that those who are protected by it present themselves as decent citizens and provide it with constant, effective support.
Washington also stated that the concept of tolerance is no longer used, as though one class of people’s indulgence allowed another to exercise their inalienable natural rights.
The Newport Historical Society’s executive director, Rebecca Bertrand, has been chosen to read this year’s George Washington Letter. The letter from Moses Seixas of Newport’s Hebrew Congregation to President Washington, which prompted Washington’s well-known answer, will be read by Meryle Cawley, executive director of the Touro Synagogue Foundation.
The keynote speaker will be Crystal Williams, president of the Rhode Island School of Design.
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are among the notable letter readers and keynote speakers who have long graced the yearly event.
Although there won’t be much space for in-person attendance, the event will be livestreamed, and anybody can participate online by clicking on the link on the Touro Synagogue Foundation’s Facebook page:facebook.com/TouroSynagogue.
The reading pays tribute to the group that worshipped at the 1763-dedicated Touro Synagogue, the oldest surviving Jewish place of worship in the country.
For additional details or to find out if you can attend in person, call (401) 847-4794, ext. 207, or send an email to [email protected].
You can get more information about President Washington’s letter from 1790 at TouroSynagogue.org/ReligiousFreedom.
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