 |
President _____:
Yesterday, a gunman slaughtered 11 Americans during Shabbat morning services. We mourn with the victims’ families and pray for the wounded. Here in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, we express gratitude for the first responders and for the outpouring of support from our neighbors near and far. We are committed to healing as a community while we recommit ourselves to repairing our nation.
For the past three years your words and your policies have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement. You yourself called the murderer evil, but yesterday’s violence is the direct culmination of your influence.
President _____, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism.
Our Jewish community is not the only group you have targeted. You have also deliberately undermined the safety of people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. Yesterday’s massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country.
President _____, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you stop targeting and endangering all minorities.
The murderer’s last public statement invoked the compassionate work of the Jewish refugee service HIAS at the end of a week in which you spread lies and sowed fear about migrant families in Central America. He killed Jews in order to undermine the efforts of all those who find shared humanity with immigrants and refugees.
President _____, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you cease your assault on immigrants and refugees.
The Torah teaches that every human being is made b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.
This means all of us.
In our neighbors, Americans, and people worldwide who have reached out to give our community strength, there we find the image of God. While we cannot speak for all Pittsburghers, or even all Jewish Pittsburghers, we know we speak for a diverse and unified group when we say:
President _____, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you commit yourself to compassionate, democratic policies that recognize the dignity of all of us.
Bend the Arc: Pittsburgh
Jamie Forrest
Joshua Friedman
Jamie Harris
Tammy Hepps
Harry Hochheiser
Sasha King
Jonathan Mayo
Elinor S. Nathanson
Avigail S. Oren
Kate Rothstein
Yael Silk
|
via Bend The Arc
EVERY city should disinvite the Orange Traitor. But I just read he's planning to go anyway, meet with victims' families. I hope those families don't play this "I care even though I could really care less but I'm doing it for political reasons" game with him and just say NO.
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed with three Jewish family members.
ReplyDeleteThe sweetest, smartest, caring and most compassionate
people ever. It astonishes me that _______ keeps
ramping up all his rhetoric.
Don't know if you heard or not, but his approval rating tanked 4 points in less time than it takes him to swizzle down a diet coke.
ReplyDeletehe can go, but I hope NO ONE shows up to meet him.
ReplyDeleteI hope the entire city turns out to turn their backs on him.
ReplyDelete