Latino Jewish Leadership Council Statement on El Paso, Dayton Mass Shootings

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Aug 06, 2019, 10:43 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Latino Jewish Leadership Council (LJLC) issued the following statement today:

The members of the Latino Jewish Leadership Council (LJLC) are deeply saddened by the senseless and horrific mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which resulted in 31 deaths and dozens of injured.

Regarding El Paso in particular, we strongly denounce the rise of anti-Latino/anti-immigrant hate in our public sphere. This hate, coupled with unbridled access to assault weapons allowing for domestic terrorism, fueled the El Paso massacre. We also express our solidarity with Mexico for the loss of life of several of its citizens.

At this critical juncture, Americans expect moral clarity from their leaders. Words and actions are absolutely required to bring the nation together, heal wounds, and prevent individuals supporting xenophobic and racist positions from further terrorizing our communities. Changes to our gun laws are also urgently required and cannot wait any longer.

We call upon our elected and appointed officials, Republicans and Democrats alike, indeed all people of good will, to stand together, with absolute moral clarity, for American democratic and pluralistic core values, which remain the bedrock of our nation and the best defense against the forces of hatred that seek to appeal to prejudice and to divide us.

As leaders of the Latino and Jewish communities across the U.S., we urge our public officials to:

take urgent action against the increase in hate crimes
speak out forcefully and unequivocally against racism, discrimination, and hateful rhetoric
pass gun-control laws that strengthen background checks and address the proliferation of semi-automatic assault weapons

Convened by American Jewish Committee in 2017, the LJLC is formed by 50 top leaders from both communities committed to jointly speaking up and acting on behalf of issues and values which are vital to American society. It has repeatedly denounced the rise of anti-immigrant, antisemitic, and xenophobic rhetoric that has too often infected our nation's political discourse.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee