AFA Supports Our Jewish Labor Committee
(October 27, 2018) - We stand with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.”
We have no room for hate. All leaders, public and private, must call for equality, mutual respect, and love. It is incumbent on all of us to hold our leaders responsible for this action and example. Our hearts are with our Jewish friends and all touched by the despicable act of hatred in Pittsburgh today. We rise up in love and unity.
We encourage those in Pittsburgh to share your support and love in person. The official, interfaith community vigil in partnership with Jewish synagogues in Pittsburgh will be at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial at 5 p.m. tomorrow, October 28. Doors will open at 3 p.m.
From the Jewish Labor Committee:
Jewish Labor Committee Sends Condolences to Tree of Life Congregation: Condemns Domestic Terrorist Act in Pittsburgh and the Climate that Breeds It
October 27, 2018: New York, NY -- The Jewish Labor Committee sends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed by the domestic terrorist who attacked the Tree of Life Congregation during Shabbat services earlier today, and to the entire congregation and the larger community.
This violent terrorist act in Pittsburgh was not the first, although it was the largest such attack against the American Jewish community. Deflecting people's fears, frustrations and anxieties toward Jews, refugees or any minority in society is not new.
We are mindful that this terrorist act was motivated not only by hatred of Jews, but also by hatred of refugees and other migrants, and of those organizations, congregations, and communities aiding them. And this bigotry did not arise from nowhere. Anti-refugee sentiment, expressed in hate-filled rhetoric by the most senior members of the government, has been echoed and amplified in social media and given legitimacy by the mainstream press. The coded messages of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia are given free rein not only in extreme alt-right shadows, but increasingly in the conservative mainstream.
The rapid rise of anti-Semitic acts in the United States, including this most recent case of domestic terrorism by a hate-filled home-grown extremist, must be condemned and rejected not only by those directly affected, but by all Americans. We call on all men and women of good will to join us in rejecting anti-Semitism, and all manifestations of racial, ethnic, religious and political bigotry. Not only in Pittsburgh, but across the United States, we need to stand together and confront such hatred, and the violence it breeds.
