26 April 11 • 2019 jn yeshivah does not discuss particular students and why any student may or may not be receiving semicha. ” Linzer added that the yeshivah could have handled the process of informing Atwood in a much better manner. “I’ ve never been more disappointed in Modern Orthodoxy and its institu- tions, ” Lopatin said. “We are supposed to stand for an unfearing loyalty to Halachah, and it seems to me there are so many who are acting out of fear and not who they really believe halachically can be a rabbi. We’ re supposed to fear God alone; we’ re not supposed to fear what other Jews are going to say about it … It’ s a real shameful moment” Several graduates of the school said alumni are divided over the school’ s handling of this decision. “People look to Chovevei to be a beacon for people who are trying to stay committed to the Orthodox world and at the same time not have to com- promise their moral values, ” said Rabbi Aaron Potek, an alumnus and now the rabbi at GatherDC in Washington, D.C. “If the leadership at Chovevei can’ t find a way to make space for gay Orthodox rabbis, that sends a pretty devastating message to that commu- nity and to the broader Orthodox community about what is and is not possible to be included in that world. ” Others defended the school, noting the requirement for YCT students to be fully committed to Orthodox Halachah and Atwood’ s recent engage- ment to his partner with whom he lives. In 2010, YCT faculty members issued a document urging compassion and inclusion for LGBT members of the Orthodox community, but also asserted that “Halakhic Judaism can- not give its blessing and imprimatur to Jewish religious same-sex commitment ceremonies and weddings, and hal- akhic values proscribe individuals and communities from encouraging prac- tices that grant religious legitimacy to gay marriage and couplehood. ” Linzer, who has been the rosh yeshiva of YCT since its founding and assumed the role of president last fall, has long been an advocate for acceptance of LGBT members of the Orthodox community. ■ continued from page 24 jews d in the Iraqi Detroiters Detained by ICE Face Deportation After a two-year legal battle, some Metro Detroit Iraqi nationals detained by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement face deportation after the full U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 2 upheld an earlier ruling by a three- judge panel from that court, according to a story in the Detroit News. In June 2017, the Jewish community immediately reached out to support the Chaldean community when 114 Iraqi Christian immigrants in Metro Detroit were rounded up by immigra- tion authorities. A team of volunteer attorneys went into Federal District Court and got the emergency order they sought, an immediate stay of removal from Judge Mark Goldsmith that applied nationwide. Goldsmith is a member of the Woodward Avenue Shul. Goldsmith issued a subsequent ruling that the detainees should be given bond hearings and could not be deported until they had a chance to plead their cases in immigration court. That ruling led to hundreds of detain- ees being released to their families late last year after having spent up to 18 months in detention. The U.S. government appealed that ruling and a three-judge panel ruled in December that Goldsmith had overstepped his authority. The full U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The ACLU, which argued that detainees sent back to Iraq could face torture or death for their Christian faith or for having served in the U.S. military, brought the case titled Hamama v. Adducci on which the ruling was based. ACLU attorneys say they have now run out of options. Members of Michigan’ s congres- sional delegation signed a bipartisan letter to the Department of Homeland Security on April 8 demanding a stop to the mass deporation of Iraqi nation- als until individual cases can be con- sidered and evaluated by both DHS and immigration judges, epsecially considering the risk of persecution faced by Iraqi Christians. ■ Judge Mark Goldsmith JERRY ZOLYNSKY Questions? Email Sy Manello at smanello@renmedia.us or call him at 248-351-5147. Free Listing Submission Deadline is May 10, 2019. The Jewish News will honor all Jewish students who are graduating this spring from Michigan high schools in our Cap & Gown Yearbook 2019, which will be published in the May 25 issue. Free listings include a photo and up to 40 words listing your accomplishments. All listings must be submitted online. Go to thejewishnews.com/cap-and-gown to submit your free listing today!