As members of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, we stand together as a community of rabbis, spanning denominations, in solidarity and comfort with the family and friends of Heather Heyer. Heather was brutally murdered through an act of domestic terrorism at this “Unite the Right” rally. We add our voices to speak out against the support given to White Supremacy, neo-Nazis, the KKK and other hate groups by President Trump through his silence and equivocation.
The president’s statements and silence have drawn criticism from leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties and cheers from the leaders of White supremacy. Outcries have come from every manner of faith group in our nation. We stand with the CCAR (Reform rabbis), RCA (Orthodox rabbis) and RA (Conservative rabbis) who have all spoken up since the attack to denounce xenophobia, racism and hatred.
We add our voices to all those who call for unequivocal repudiation of racist ideologies. We hold out our hands to those within the Jewish community, and to our African-American colleagues and all of our partners in faith across the Kansas City area and beyond, to work together to create a society where we are all able to see each one of our brothers and sisters as someone created in God’s image.
We hope to live up to the goal set forth by President Lincoln in his second inaugural address:
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Stop the panic
We are at war. Many stubbornly and foolishly don’t put the pieces together and refuse to identify the evil doers as evil. We are disgracefully politically correct.
There are no Luftwaffe overhead or Panzer divisions on our borders. But make no mistake; we are under attack — our values, our tolerance, our freedom, our virtue, our land. Did anyone imagine in the 1920s what Europe would look like in the 1940s?
We dare not wallow in complacency, in a misguided tolerance and naive sense of security. We must not be lulled into inaction for fear of offending the offenders. On Aug. 17, 13 people were murdered in Barcelona, Spain. Radical Islam is the scourge of the world and this must be cried out from every synagogue. ISIS must be destroyed. Iran is our enemy. These murderers, these barbarians are radical Islamists.
This is all-out war. Show no mercy on them. They must be utterly destroyed. They want to murder Jews and we must destroy them first. Why are people afraid to state this? Most of the world hates us Jews for no reason. We should stop appeasing the world and protect ourselves and Israel. We have just witnessed the horrible murder in Charlottesville. The Neo Nazis, white supremacists and KKK have come out of their holes. People are blaming the president and our country is becoming divided. Jewish leaders are writing that we may be in pre-war Poland and Germany in the United States. These groups are not new. People say they have been emboldened because of Trump while others maintain Trump is good for the country. We are still a melting pot of minorities and a democracy with a constitution and laws that protect us. If we decide Mr. Trump is unworthy of being president he will be impeached or not re-elected. I am concerned that the media is causing panic in this country and some Jews are beginning to live in fear. This is a tumultuous time for America and the world in general. We must be strong and remember the moral values which shaped this country.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
Edison, New Jersey
