July 11, 2022
The DFW Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council and Community of Conscience are outraged at the antisemitic threats that led San Antonio Jewish houses of worship to cancel Shabbat morning prayer services this weekend. Credible threats came just days after institutions around the state were cautioned about rising levels of chatter about the possibility of an attack in Texas; and San Antonio City Council Member John Courage condemned a series of antisemitic incidents in his district.
In a 2021 report, the American Jewish Committee found that 17% of Jews avoided certain places, events or situations out of concern for antisemitism. In the south, over a quarter (26%) avoided wearing or publicly displaying items that would identify them as Jewish.
In a 1790 letter to the Jewish community of Newport, George Washington maintained “…the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” In the spirit of our founding President’s words of support, we call on the Biden administration to create and implement a national action plan to combat antisemitism and on Congress to ensure that synagogues and all houses of worship have the resources necessary to ensure that Americans of faith may worship in peace and security.
The DFW Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) and Community of Conscience coalition are convened by American Jewish Committee (AJC) Dallas
MJAC is co-chaired by Gamal Abdel-Hafiz and Mark Zilbermann and focuses on advocating for accurate reporting of hate crime, advancing the free practice of religion and promoting the contributions of religious minorities to our country.
The Community of Conscience, co-chaired by Juan Carlos Cerda, Stefanie Schneidler, Texas State Rep. Carl Sherman, and Tina Wasserman is a multi-faith, multi-ethnic coalition that seeks to amplify the values of pluralism, civil discourse, bipartisanship and mutual respect.
For more information, contact dallas@ajc.org.
