Combatting Anti-Jewish And Anti-Muslim Hate

Chabad Community Center in Poway, Calif. (Credit: Gregory Bull/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

In the past two months, we have seen incredible violence against sites of worship in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the US. Last weekend's attack against a synagogue in San Diego underscores the rise of white supremacy, and the need to combat antisemitism and create a world that is safe for everyone.

We grieve with the community of Poway, California who lost a loved one to hate. We are frightened as the safety of Jewish communities continues to be threatened by white supremacists. Seeing that the Poway synagogue murderer was inspired by the New Zealand mosque attacks and also set fire to the Escondido Mosque nearby painfully reinforces the fact that anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate go hand in hand. We are in this together, and we must defeat all forms of racism together. And we reject cynical efforts to exploit the tragedy at Poway Chabad by blaming Palestinian human rights defenders. White supremacists are to blame for anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate.

As we wrote following the Tree of Life massacre, we recommit to defending each other. It is all too clear the link between this kind of racist violence and the Trump administration’s racist policies and language against Jewish, Muslim, Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, and other refugee, immigrant and minority communities.

We remain united in our collective struggle against hateful supremacist ideologies, and for freedom, human dignity and equal rights for all, from the U.S. to Palestine/Israel.