The North Carolina Council of Churches represents 18 denominations statewide among which are congregations large and small, urban and rural, multicultural and multi-ethnic. Today we stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors.
The recent increase in violence against our Jewish neighbors is antithetical to the freedom guaranteed to each person in this country. We value the freedom of religion guaranteed by our Constitution and proudly proclaimed worldwide as a foundational principle of the United States government and society. For freedom of religion to have substance and integrity, it must extend to people of all faiths.
More importantly, for Christians, the violence against our Jewish neighbors is abhorrent to the God we worship. The North Carolina Council of Churches condemns all violence, yet religious violence takes on a different hue because of its dehumanizing characteristic. Furthermore, as descendants of the Jewish faith, we are compelled to stand with all who identify as Jewish in this season of danger.
While many of us have friends and family from the Jewish tradition and have privately reassured them of our sympathy and support, today we call for public acknowledgement that more work is needed to curtail anti-Semitic behavior.
We call on members of the Christian community to ground themselves in the principles of peace, which necessarily include ensuring safety for those whose religious beliefs differ from our own.
We call on members of the Christian community to stand with those who have become the objects of religious persecution and publicly denounce those who perpetrate it..
We call on members of the Christian community to work tirelessly to promote respect and understanding for all faith traditions.
