[MARCH 2021]
We are saddened and appalled by reports of a mass shooting in the Atlanta metro area and the disproportionate targeting of Asian and Asian American women. We stand – in sorrow and in defiance of all forms of hate – with the families of the nine victims, the Atlanta Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and the greater Atlanta metro area. In doing so, we add our voices to the words expressed by our friends at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta:
We mourn for the loss of life and our thoughts are with the victims and their families. As Jewish tradition teaches, “Don’t stand by idly while your neighbor bleeds" (Lev. 19:16). We have an obligation to lift up our voices when faced with hatred and discrimination. While the motivation has not been fully established, Tuesday’s killings in the Atlanta metro area follow a disturbing pattern of increasing violence and hatred directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. We condemn this violence and hatred, and we stand ready to support our AAPI neighbors and fellow Jews who are members of the AAPI community however we are needed.