A message to the community from JFS President Marty Nelson and CEO Rabbi Will Berkovitz on the events in Poway, California, on April 27, 2019:
Yesterday as we celebrated Shabbat, the final day of Passover and the start of our liberation from the narrow places of Egypt, our joy was once again shattered by a senseless act of anti-Semitic hate directed at a community in prayer. A community in prayer turned into a people in mourning simply for being Jewish.
While the killer attacked the Chabad in Poway, California, it was an assault not just on another Jewish community, it was an attack on the entire Jewish community. But it is more than that. Each of these acts of hate destabilizes the foundations of our country.
Today we give honor and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Poway. We offer support to the victims, their families and friends. We remember Lori Gilbert Kaye z”l who was murdered in a place of sanctuary.
But remembrances are not sufficient. We must stand up to this rise of hate. We must call it out everywhere for what it is and what it is doing to our society. Sadly, as long as people and places of worship are turned into targets of hate, we will all be left wandering in the desert and our redemption will not be complete.
Please join us tonight, April 28th, at 6pm with Chabad Lubavitch of the Pacific Northwest as we join in solidarity for the Jewish community of Poway, San Diego. The gathering will take place at the Eastside Torah Center, 16199 Northup Way, Bellevue.
B’shalom (in peace),
Rabbi Will Berkovitz, CEO, and Marty Nelson, Board President
