Sunday, March 17, 2019

Interfaith Council Statement after Christchurch

From the Rabbi's Desktop





Here is the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut's statement following the massacre of 50 innocent human beings at worship in New Zealand, at the hands of a terrorist wedded to an ideology of xenophobia and hate; whose manifesto calls refugees "invaders" and stokes the same "replacement"  fears that  became the battle cry of White Nationalists against Jews in Charlottesville and that inspired the synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh.  This attack that took place on the other side of the earth was, make no mistake about it, an attack on us, as Jews, as decent, peace-loving people, and as members of the human family.

The statement has been posted by the Stamford Advocate. I signed it without hesitation.  May it be the last one of its kind that I ever need to sign.

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On Friday, March 15, 2019 some 50 Muslim worshippers were brutally - at point-blank range - murdered in a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Twenty others have been injured. They include toddlers and teenagers, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents and friends - people like you and us.
The Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut condemns this hate and atrocity, stands with our Muslim sisters and brothers and sends our solidarity and deepest condolences to our Christchurch, New Zealand, family. We send more than condolences to our communities and our elected officials. We send us all a wake-up call, a call to action - prevent gun violence through education, coalition, public awareness, effective law enforcement and sensible legislative change NOW.
Mass shootings have disrupted and brutally ended the lives of worshipers in Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Penn., First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal in downtown Charleston, S.C., the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., and a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighborhood of Quebec City, Canada. Gun violence is a horrific, an immoral and an unacceptable act anytime, anywhere. It is especially monstrous in places where communities gather to learn, love and worship.
We stand brokenhearted but not broken-spirited with our Muslim sisters and brothers after the Christchurch tragedy. As faith leaders and community members, we are united in condemning these acts of hate, intolerance, immorality, amorality and xenophobia. We are one family.
The Board of Directors of The Interfaith Council of Southwestern CT
Kareem Adeeb, Ph.D., president, Muslim
The Rev. Mark Lingle, executive director, Christian
Azra Asaduddin, Muslim
Inni Kaur Dhingra, Sikh
Sara Hakim, Treasurer, Baha'i
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
The Rev. Michael Hyman, Secretary, Baptist Christian
Peter Lilienthal , Jewish
Regina Miolene, Roman Catholic Christian
Betsy Nagurney, Roman Catholic Christian
Marie Orsini Rosen, vice president, Jewish
The Rev. ReBecca Sala, Unitarian Universalist

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