The Wisconsin Council of Rabbis issued the following statement on racial injustice on Dec. 24.
“When our sage Hillel writes, “If not now, when?” he underscores the need for immediacy in addressing pressing issues. For our society today, it is imperative that we resolve the manifest problem of violent police attitudes and behavior toward young black men, as well as the intolerance that is, sadly, still part of our nation’s makeup. Although not representative of the vast majority of police officers who risk their lives daily to protect the peace, the disproportionate incidence of police mistreatment of black youth, leading to violence and death, is an offense to our civilized society. Also the occurrence of reprisals on police personnel erodes the ability of law enforcement to perform the proper tasks for our society. All of this bespeaks a certain kind of prejudice and mistrust that still inhabits the hearts and minds of people on both sides of this divide.
“Our tradition teaches that each person has been made in God’s image, and we must, accordingly, treat each of God’s creatures with equality, dignity and worth. The disparate occurrence of violent death of unarmed black youth at the hands of police, from Staten Island to Oakland, and even in our own state of Wisconsin, clearly demonstrates that our nation has great difficulty actualizing this value. Retaliation aimed at police also points to our many shortcomings and doubt. We must not permit such behavior to continue; we must, as a nation, cure the illnesses of mistrust and bigotry that plague us.
“The protest demonstrations that have occurred should shake us from our national apathy. They emphasize the urgent need to recognize our shortcomings and solve them. And they echo the sentiment of Hillel, who directs us not to tarry when a need is so immediate and vital.
“We desperately need to establish, once and for all, a firm and lasting level of trust between the police and citizens of every color. We must find ways to diminish the disparities in employment, incomes, and educational levels that have kept minority Americans from a rightful place at the table. And we in Wisconsin need to repair the severe gaps that rank us last of fifty states for minority children in terms of birth weight, education, childhood welfare, poverty levels, juvenile justice and adult incarceration.
“We believe it is necessary for our society to undergo a process of reflection, dialogue and reconciliation. Therefore we encourage activities across the state of Wisconsin that will repair the schisms that exist between neighbors, communities and institutions.
“We pray that, in our day, we can work to repair these human divisions that still estrange one group of people from another. May God give us the strength to do so!”
The Wisconsin Council of Rabbis is a representative body of rabbis from all denominations of Judaism. It serves as a voice of the Jewish religious community in Wisconsin and promotes the interests of Judaism and the Jewish people in Wisconsin and throughout the world. Its current president is Rabbi Noah Chertkoff of Congregation Shalom in Fox Point.
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