Jewish Group Stands with Muslim Community: Commits to Continue to Challenge Islamophobia

In light of the current climate of rampant Islamophobia, we at Jewish Voice for Peace were disgusted to learn that anti-Muslim hate groups have called for a "Global Rally for Humanity" outside at least 20 mosques and Islamic centers across the country on October 9-10. These proposed rallies--designed to "take back the Republic," and in which some of the organizers are encouraging participants to exercise their "constitutional right" to bear arms--are part of a virulent campaign of violent and racist intimidation targeted at Muslims.

As hate crimes and bias incidents are on the rise against Muslim institutions and against individuals assumed to be Muslim, we at JVP continue to stand with the Muslim community--and with all communities that are being targeted by xenophobia and white supremacy.

As we condemn this specific act of anti-Muslim viciousness, we continue to commit ourselves to taking action to challenge state-sponsored and other acts of Islamophobia in all their manifestations, such as government surveillance of the Muslim community; anti-Muslim violence and hate speech; discrimination against Muslims in employment; policies that single out for detention and deportation those from Arab and majority-Muslim countries; and the invocation of Islamophobic tropes to drum up support for Israel's oppressive policies against the Palestinian people.

We urge fellow Jews and all concerned people to reach out, in their local communities, in solidarity with Muslim institutions and individuals. We are heartened to see different communities condemning these horrific rallies, and we hope others will also join us in the longer-term work of challenging other ways that Islamophobia manifests itself in our communities.