Interfaith Council stands together against hate
To the Times: Standing Together Against Hate
The Interfaith Council of Southern Delaware County (formerly the Swarthmore Wallingford Interfaith Ministerium) and the Fellowship of Urban-Suburban Engagement (FUSE) stand together to denounce the recent wave of attacks against the Jewish community in our nation and in our area, including the vandalism of nearly 100 gravestones at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia and the recent bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers in the tri-state area.
These acts of hateful violence weigh heavily on our hearts and on the hearts of our sisters and brothers in the Jewish community who Joe Nicoletti and Ronni Newton of the Taconey Holmesburg town watch group pay their respects at a damaged headstone in Mount Carmel cemetery Monday. wonder not if, but when such hate crimes will happen again. Such hatred and bigotry cannot be tolerated by our communities.
As a coalition of leaders and community members across faith traditions, we call upon all people of goodwill to join us in decrying these acts, and to affirm our mutual intention to love and support our neighbors. We also call upon our local, state, and national officials unequivocally to denounce such violence and hate crimes, and to lead in setting a good example of the values to which we aspire as a nation.
As interfaith community leaders, we stand firm in the knowledge that there is more that unites us than divides us. We are committed to one another as sisters and brothers, and pledge to work together to make our communities safe for all.