Interfaith Statement on Hate, Feb. 22, 2017

Interfaith Statement on Hate

Feb. 22, 2017

Diverse leaders of good will and strong faith must stand side by side to oppose a shadowy rise of what must be termed evil. Hate and intolerance are rearing up like emboldened specters, threatening both our core, shared values and the well-being of a nation whose freedoms and opportunities have been a beacon that must not be dimmed.

The leaders of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee strongly condemn the recent series of bomb threats and other anti-Semitic acts that have besieged Jewish community centers and schools here and across the country.

With equal vigor, we abhor similar hate acts directed against Muslims and others who are seen as “different.” The gunshots from a hate-driven assailant who slayed six Sikhs at a temple in Oak Creek nearly five years ago still echo in our collective consciousness. Images from a mass shooting of African Americans two years ago at a church in Charleston, S.C., remain vivid.

These happenings are warnings of what already exists. And they are compelling calls to step up, stand up, and live up to the teachings of our faiths and to the ideals that are essential to a free and stable democratic society.

For 47 years, the Interfaith Conference – whose member faiths and denominations now reach across southern and southeastern Wisconsin – has upheld the sacred dignity of every person. We call upon people of all faiths and philosophies to stand even taller with us now.

Issued by the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee Executive Committee on behalf
of the Interfaith Cabinet (our board of directors).