Dear Friends,
Over the weekend, 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded in Libya. And a horrific attack on a Shia mosque in Pakistan killed 19 people.
Then, I got an email about Denmark – and the gunman who opened fire on a synagogue in Copenhagen.
All I could think was – I just can’t stand it! But I can’t ignore it, either.
And then I received a reminder of what it means to be human. As a Jew who is terrified by the surge in tribal hatreds, I read how Muslims in Norway are planning to form a human shield around a synagogue in Oslo. Responding to the recent attack terrifying Jews in Copenhagen, 17 year-old Hajrad Arshad organized nearly 1,000 supporters to form a “ring of peace” around the synagogue this Saturday, February 21.
Therein lies the answer. Despite the daily horrors and barbarity, the answer is to face it. We must build solidarity and stand with our friends from within and beyond our own communities, to achieve security, respect and peace.
With sorrow for those targeted and slaughtered,
Joyce S. Dubensky
CEO