Following public demonstrations over the senseless and unjust death of George Floyd, Jewish Center for Justice Executive Director Rabbi Joel Simonds took to social media to reflect on the current moment:
“Shavuah Tov is hard to say tonight. How do we say have a good week when the streets are on fire, the people are bleeding and the soul of our nation is broken? But we have never entered a new week without hope. We hear the call of our ancestors and we are told to move forward, to link arms and strive for brighter tomorrows. Protest is a step toward progress. But we must open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to the stories, to the pain and to the truth. We never enter a new week with despair. We control our history and we will make this right. It will take time, it will take work, it will take all of us. Be angry, be sad, be outraged and be in this movement for the future. And maybe just maybe we can get to a Shavuah Tov!”
“We have become distracted and we are letting others dictate the moment! This is a moment to finally come together and fight racism. This is a moment to come together and listen and learn. This is a moment to write a new chapter and atone for the previous pages. This is a moment. And if we focus our outrage on the looting alone then we are nowhere! We must focus, we must buckle in for the long and painful journey ahead. It’s a journey that will change us as individuals and as a society. But if we feel fear and outrage at the looting of this weekend and forget the protest of this week then we have lost. Don’t turn away, don’t turn off, don’t forget that what we are fighting for. The next generation is watching, what will we show them?”
Please join us in our collective work to dismantle racial injustice in our country. Email Rabbi Simonds directly at rabbisimonds@jewishcenterforjustice.org, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.