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BY: CUNY Law Jewish Law Student Association | DATE: Jun 10, 2020

The Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA) mourns the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and all those who have been murdered by anti-Black violence and white supremacy. Baruch dayan haemet. We stand in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives, CUNY’s Black Law Students Association, and Black communities worldwide in the fight against systemic racism and racialized violence, and we are committed to bringing all of our support to the powerful, Black-led organizing happening across the country. 

We know that anti-Black violence is nothing new, and that these murders are not isolated events. Black people have been subjugated for 400 years, and white supremacy is baked into every layer of our society: from racial disparities in health outcomes and school funding, to the over-policing and criminalization of Black communities. For centuries, our systems and institutions have inflicted trauma and violence upon Black communities, and they continue to do so today.

We join the chorus of voices demanding that the police be defunded, that we divest from the criminalization and caging of Black people, and invest in the infrastructures that keep Black communities safe, healthy, and whole. We call on CUNY to end its longstanding relationship with the NYPD. 

As a Jewish community, we know that we have work to do: from fighting anti-Black racism within our own community, to centering the voices and experiences of Jews of Color. We commit to working within our community to demand that our institutions cut ties with law enforcement who are called upon to “protect” and patrol the entrances of our synagogues, shuls, and community centers, and to reimagine the tools and practices we use to keep ourselves safe. Recognizing that the struggle for Black liberation has always been intersectional and internationalist, we also commit to working to dismantle our community’s support for the atrocities perpetuated in our name in Palestine, including by ending our institutions’ support for the deadly exchanges between U.S. law enforcement agencies and Israeli security forces where worst practices (extra-judicial killings, mass surveillance, suppression of protest) are shared.  

We hear the charge from BLSA and others in the Movement for Black Lives: as future public interest lawyers and members of the Jewish community, we pledge to roll up our sleeves and recommit ourselves to racial justice. We pledge to dismantle the deadly falsehood that safety for some communities requires violence against others, and to reimagine what real safety looks like: a world without police and prisons. We pledge to work towards Olam Habah, the world to come, where safety is collective, and is built through solidarity and mutual support. 

 

In solidarity,
JLSA Executive Board 2020-2021

Resources for Jews and Allies

Many of our colleagues have shared educational materials, organizations to support, petitions to sign, and ways to engage in and support the protests, and we encourage our community to utilize those resources. Below are some additional ones, including those specific to our Jewish community:

 

Listen to Black voices and the demands of Black leadership:
Reflect on our role as Jews in the Movement for Black Lives:
Support protestors and Black-led organizing
Act