South Bay Jewish Community Support of Muslims

March 23, 2016

Dear Maha,

The Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley stands in solidarity with our friends and neighbors in the Muslim community in strongly rejecting the xenophobic call to patrol U.S. Muslim neighborhoods in reaction to the Brussels terror attacks. We have needed to express this solidarity a number of times recently, and we will not cease to continuously reject the prejudice riled up by conflating all Muslims with terrorists. We all strive to teach our children to speak out against bullies, to counter stereotyping which leads to prejudice; it is especially disturbing to hear such generalizations from adults aspiring to public office. While we cannot change the discomfort experienced by Muslim Americans, we hope you will share with the ING community our empathy and strong rejection of any narrow-minded and xenophobic attitudes towards Muslims.

Sincerely,

Diane Fisher
Community Relations Council
Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley

Co-signed by Rabbis from the community:

Rabbi Melanie Aron, Congregation Shir Hadash
Rabbi Mychal Copeland, Interfaith Family Bay Area
Cantor Devorah Felder-Levy, Congregation Shir Hadash
Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper, Yavneh Day School
Rabbi Debbie Israel, Congregation Emeth
Rabbi Lisa Levenberg, Congregation Shir Hadash
Rabbi Dana Magat, Temple Emanu-El
Rabbi Hugh Seid-Valencia, Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center
Cantor Meeka Simerly, Temple Emanu-El