[Jewonthis] WCJA Statement of Support for Black Lives Matter Movement

[Willwerth, Sarah]

Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof. Justice, justice, shall you pursue (Deut. 16:20).

Our Jewish tradition – and indeed the very fiber of our moral consciousness
– requires us to speak and act to combat injustice against anyone. We
support and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, in
the wake of the murder of George Floyd and many others, as they face pain
and suffering in a country in which racism and injustice have continued for
far too long. The Jewish concept of tikkun olam, meaning “repair the
world,” demands that each and every person take action to improve the
world. The members of the board of the Williams College Jewish Association
(WCJA) unequivocally stand with the Black community in the fight for
justice against systemic racism, violence, and police brutality.

We recognize the historically complex relationship between Black and Jewish
communities in the United States and aim to continue and strengthen our
solidarity. We seek to continue the historical unity of Jews fighting
racism and African-Americans fighting antisemitism, and we will strive to
create peace and obtain justice. We specifically recognize the racism
within our own community and the way Jews of Color, including Black Jews,
are othered, mistreated, and rejected. We commit ourselves to addressing
and removing these prejudices from our own spaces at Williams College and
beyond.

We acknowledge and condemn historic and contemporary injustices against
Black people in America, including the violent systems of oppression from
which white and white-passing people benefit. We are so sorry that it has
taken so long, and so many Black lives, to galvanize these actions and
apologize that WCJA as an organization has waited until these protests to
make this statement, which should have come years ago. We affirm our
commitment to ending any and all complicity we have with systemic
injustices, which extends far beyond the words of any statement. We will
hold ourselves and each other accountable for our implicit and explicit
biases and work towards desperately needed changes to our unjust law
enforcement, criminal justice, and economic systems.

We pledge to take the following actions in the upcoming school year to
support the Black Lives Matter movement and engage in this often difficult
but always necessary work towards justice:

-Hold fundraiser(s) for racial justice organizations;

-Host programming that centers the experiences and identities of
marginalized Jews and other marginalized communities;

-Reach out to anti-racist organizations in the Berkshires;

-Build alliances with other student groups at Williams;

-Require Davis Center implicit bias training for all board members;

We will adapt our plans as necessary given the uncertainty surrounding the
upcoming semesters.

As students, Jews, and global citizens, we are recommitting WCJA to justice
work within our community and beyond. We strive to make WCJA a community of
comfort, justice, peace, and love for all.

L’shalom,

WCJA Board 2020-21
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