JEWISH COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

Published June 1, 2020

Below is a community response on behalf of the Assembly of Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County’s Jewish Community Relations Council’s (JCRC). Click here to read Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)’s statement, of which Federation is a signer.

We, the undersigned members of the Jewish Community Relations Council Assembly of Palm Beach County, deplore the killing of George Floyd by law enforcement officers in Minneapolis, an act that comes in the wake of a string of similar outrages.

We stand united in solidarity with the Black community, as an ally in the fight for equality and the right of all people, regardless of skin color, to live without fear for their safety. We all need to work together to enact those changes in law enforcement and in our criminal justice system that are necessary to achieve true equality and justice in America. As our tradition commands: “Justice, Justice shall you pursue!”

We stand together against hatred and bigotry in any form. Racism—just like the rising tide of antisemitism—is a virus that spreads with passivity. The Jewish community knows all too personally and painfully the dangers of unchecked hatred, particularly when it infiltrates systems and is harbored by those in power. In the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “…In regard to cruelties committed in the name of a free society, some are guilty, while all are responsible.”

The function of law enforcement is vital to society, and the majority of law enforcement officials are dedicated public servants, many of whom have given their lives to protect others. For this reason, we call on all law enforcement agencies to quickly and effectively address violations and those who violate their oath to protect and serve in a manner that restores public trust and upholds the core American, democratic values of justice and equality.

Signed,

ADL Florida
Alpert Jewish Family Service
Chabad of Jupiter
Friedman Commission for Jewish Education, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
Hadassah Florida
Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach
Insight Through Education
Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
Jewish Volunteer Center, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Greater Palm Beaches
Levine Jewish Residential & Family Service
Mandel JCC of the Palm Beaches
Meyer Jewish Preparatory School
NCJW Palm Beach Section
Temple B’nai Jacob
Temple Beit HaYam
Temple Beth Am
Temple Beth El
Temple Beth Kodesh
Temple Beth Shalom, Vero Beach
Temple Beth Tikvah
Temple Beth Torah
Temple Israel
Temple Shaarei Shalom
Temple Torat Emet