A coalition of Jewish groups has declared the coming Shabbat as one of solidarity with the African American community in the wake of the mass killing at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
In a June 23 release, umbrella bodies representing the Conservative, Reform, Orthodox and Reconstructionist streams pledged “to speak out in synagogues this coming Shabbat on the issue of racism in society and to express rejection of hateful extremism,” and to demonstrate support for African Methodist Episcopal churches in their neighborhoods. Other leading Jewish groups also joined the initiative for services on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27.
On June 17, a gunman shot dead nine worshippers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The 21-year-old suspect, alleged white supremacist Dylann Roof, is in police custody.
“We stand together as a united American Jewish community in calling for a Shabbat of important introspection and examination of racism in the United States,” Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland, said in the statement. “We hope to convey our support to the African American community nationwide and show all that we will not stand for violent acts driven by hatred.”
Weinblatt, who convened the coalition of groups, is the president of the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America, which is part of the initiative. Joining the call, in addition to the religious streams, are the American Jewish Committee, Hillel and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the umbrella body for Jewish community relations councils. — jta