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Renounce Hatred, Build Together
Posted on Oct 29 2018
October 29, 2018—The terrible attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh was motivated by anti-Semitism and by anti-immigrant bigotry. We mourn the lives lost to hatred and denounce the political rhetoric that feeds and fuels that hatred.
In the past week, we have seen
- the attack on Tree of Life that killed 11 people;
- the shooting of two African Americans in a Kroger store in Kentucky after that gunman tried and failed to gain entry to a First Baptist Church in Jeffersontown with the intent to kill African Americans;
- pipe bombs sent to media and Democratic politicians.
The man who killed 11 people in the Tree of Life synagogue posted hateful rants on social media attacking the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which has aided immigrants and refugees in this country for more than a century. We share HIAS’s belief that immigrants and refugees are a gift to this country, to be welcomed rather than feared. The threat of terrorism in our country comes from bigots and right-wing extremists, not from immigrants and refugees.
“These awful acts of violence are not random,” said ILCM Executive Director John Keller. “They are connected by bigotry and hatred. They are incited and supported by political rhetoric used to create a climate of hate and fear that endangers not only its targets, but our democracy itself.
“We call on all people who care about this country to renounce hatred, to renounce bigotry, and to engage in civil, fact-based discourse that can connect us in a common effort to build a strong and welcoming United States.”