WCJA Statement of Support for Black Lives Matter Movement

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

June 3rd, 2020