Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton Klein released the following statement:

The ZOA praises the U.S. Supreme Court for in large part staying (essentially lifting) the preliminary injunctions barring enforcement of President Trump’s Executive Order No. 13780, entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.”  The Supreme Court’s decision allowing most of President Trump’s Executive Order to go into effect is an important, much needed step enabling the President to fulfill his promises to the nation and his sacred most, basic Constitutional duty of protecting all Americans (including Jewish Americans) from infiltration by terrorists affiliated with ISIS, Hezbollah and other foreign terrorist organizations. 

In addition, ZOA especially agrees with and praises the opinion written by Justice Thomas, joined in by Justices Alito and Gorsuch (a concurrence in part, and dissent in part), which stated that the injunctions should have been fully stayed.  To fully protect the nation, the Executive Order should have been allowed to go into effect in its entirety.  As Justice Thomas’s opinion correctly explained: “[W]eighing the Government’s interest in preserving national security against the hardships caused to respondents by temporary denials of entry into the country, the balance of the equities favors the Government.”  The national security and safety of Americans – indeed takes precedence over temporary denials of entry into the United States.  

ZOA previously praised President Trump’s issuance of Executive Order 13780.  (“ZOA Praises Trump Executive Order on Immigration,” Mar. 7, 2017.)  ZOA also previously criticized the Ninth Circuit of Appeals decision upholding the injunction of the previous executive order, because the Ninth Circuit’s decision disregarded the overwhelming public interest of protecting our national security and saving American lives.  ZOA noted at that time, that in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U. S. 7 (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Ninth Circuit injunction because the Supreme Court determined that the public interest in national security (the Navy’s need to conduct training exercises to ensure its ability to neutralize the threat posed by enemy submarines) “plainly outweighed” the environmental interests at issue there.  (See “ZOA: Appeals Court Decision on Immigration Executive Order Ignored Public Safety Interest: ISIS Members, Who Infiltrated Refugee Streams from Iraq and Syria, Have Committed Terrorist Attacks in Europe,” Feb. 10, 2017.)  ZOA was pleased that the Supreme Court also cited the Winter case in its decision yesterday permitting most of the Executive Order to go into effect. 

Almost daily attacks and attempted attacks throughout the world reinforce the importance of protecting U.S. citizens from ISIS and other foreign terrorist infiltration.  Islamist immigrants Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaevs and Tashfeen Malik perpetrated the deadly Boston marathon bombing and San Bernadino massacre in the U.S.  The perpetrators of the gruesome Bataclan concert terrorist attack in Paris, in which hundreds of innocents were murdered and injured, included a Syrian refugee and possibly others from the same area (who had forged Turkish passports).  (e.g., “Paris Attacks: Syrian Migrant Was Among the Bombers,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 14, 2015.)  Just this month, on June 6, 2017, a foreign doctoral student and “soldier of ISIS” attacked a police officer outside Notre Dame cathedral, while yelling “this is for Syria.”  Iranian refugee to Australia Man Horan a/k/a Mohammed Hassan Manteghi Borujerdi, after helping murder his ex-wife and pledging allegiance to ISIS, perpetrated the 17-hour siege of the Lindt Chocolate Café in Sydney, which resulted in the deaths of two innocents.  Back in February, CNN reported that ISIS has killed over 2,000 innocents in 29 countries.  (“ISIS Goes Global: 143 Attacks in 29 Countries have Killed 2,043,” by Tim Lister, Ray Sanchez, Mark Bixler, Sean O’Key, Michael Hogenmiller and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN, Feb. 13, 2017.)  The numbers have risen further since then. 

ZOA is thus grateful that the Supreme Court is enabling President Trump to protect U.S. citizens.