(Statement of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, prepared by Rabbi Hayyim and Maxine Angel)
We issue this response to the murder of George Floyd. An American life was lost in a heinous act, and the perpetrator has been charged with murder. George Floyd was a father, a brother, a son. He was part of a community and his brutal death represents yet another in an immeasurable string of injustices which cannot be tolerated. We as an organization that promotes openness and tolerance, will not remain silent on the subject of injustice.
As we learned with the spread of Covid, we are each responsible for one another, possibly more than we ever realized. The act of one can help or harm countless others. We are each responsible to stop the spread of hatred. We are each responsible to promote unmitigated respect for our fellow human beings. We are each created in the image of the Divine.
The voices and messages of peaceful protestors should not be drowned or profaned by the cowardly violence of rioting individuals and looters.