VOTE AGAINST
ANTISEMITISM
An Open Letter to America about Antisemitism
The massacre at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh on October 27th stands as an assault on the lives and inherent human dignity of every American. It is a direct assault on American values to target people because of who they are and what they believe.
This mass shooting is a tragedy, but it was not indiscriminate. It is the direct result of rhetoric that demonizes Jews and celebrates political violence.
The shooter’s profile on the Gab social network is rife with anti-Semitic images and messages posted as recently as the morning of the shooting. Two days before the shooting he posted, “There is no #MAGA as long as there is a kike infestation.” The shooter reportedly entered the synagogue and shouted, “All Jews must die.
Antisemitism today is not always as overt as the Tree of Life Congregation shooter’s social media posts, but it is rampant, and it has been embraced by President Donald Trump and others with influential positions in our country.
The shooting came after a week of attempted bombings of the homes and offices of American leaders and news organizations across the country. The first person targeted in this spree was philanthropist George Soros, a Holocaust survivor who has become the focus of countless conspiracy theories that frame him as a shadowy enemy plotting to subvert what white nationalists view as “Western civilization.”
Just one day before the shooting, President Trump attacked “globalists” in a speech ostensibly meant to call for unity following the bomb attempts. Audience members yelled out “George Soros!” followed by chants of “lock him up!” President Trump reinforced the message, echoing the phrase ‘lock him up’ from the podium.
Earlier in the week, the National Republican Congressional Committee released an ad claiming a Minnesota House candidate was “owned” by shadowy forces including George Soros. The ad was launched on Wednesday, just two days after a bomb was delivered to Soros’ home.
Earlier this month amidst the Senate confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Associate Justice, Rudy Giuliani retweeted the message, “Follow the money. I think Soros is the anti-Christ! He must go! Freeze his assets & I bet the protests stop.”
These phrases and catch words used to vilify George Soros are in many cases pulled from the age old tropes used to demonize Jews for centuries and are anti-Semitic through and through. They can’t be overlooked nor hidden by claims of legitimate political disagreements.
We know that it is not only the Jewish community that is at risk from unchecked antisemitism, but also other communities that white nationalists target. The Pittsburgh shooter’s social media posts indicate he was motivated by hateful anti-refugee rhetoric often promoted by fear-mongering elected officials. And, Wednesday’s murder of two African Americans in Kentucky is another example of white nationalists’ continued assault on diverse communities. The shooter attempted to enter a predominantly African American church before committing the fatal shootings, and this act of violence is being investigated as a hate crime. We mourn for these victims as well.
Make no mistake. Too many politicians are lending a loudspeaker to antisemitism, and it is dangerous. This shooting wasn’t the beginning stage of anti-Semitic hate; it was its logical evolution. This weekend it motivated a man to gun down worshippers for no other reason than that they were Jews. We can’t bring them back, but we can speak out against the antisemitism that led to their deaths.
We can pledge to raise our voices against any politician who campaigns on antisemitism. We can commit to vote against antisemitism on November 6th.
Any candidate’s notion of a path to victory on November 6th that rests on white nationalist anti-Semitic hate must become a strategy they will come to long regret. It’s on us to ensure that they do.
584 people signed the open letter & pledged to vote against antisemitism, and to denounce antisemitism and the people who cynically exploit it. Further, they pledged to show up against antisemitism in other ways - by sharing this letter, volunteering on election day, or reaching out to a Jewish neighbor or friend to let them know that they are in solidarity with them.
Full List of Open Letter Signers
*Organizations listed for affiliation purposes only
Mikaela Seligman, Executive Director, Achieve Mission
Stewart Kwoh, President & Executive Director, Advancing Justice - LA
Aarti Kohli, Executive Director, Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus
Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO
Ted Kirsch, President, AFT Pennsylvania
Sarai Jael & Portillo Suarez, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Oscar Chacon, Executive Director, Alianza Americas
Rev. Dr. Samuel J. López, Co-Pastor, Amazing Love Sanctuary
Rev. Dr. Jessica Drees-Buchanan, Co- Pastor, Amazing Love Sanctuary
Frank Sharry, Executive Director, America’s Voice
J. David Cox, National President, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO
Lee Saunders, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Kathy Ko Chin, President & CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Helen Hsu, President, Asian American Psychological Association
John Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
Andy Kang, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago
Alvina Yeh, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Jeff Caballero, Executive Director, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
Halimah DeOliveira, Founder, Be You In HD, LLC
Opal Tometi, Executive Director, Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Alicia Garza, Principal, Black Futures Lab
Janet McClenahan, Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Sue Philley, Social Action Team Member, Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Emmie Schlobohm, Director of Family Ministries, Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Samantha Gladu, Executive Director, Bus Project
Asma Rehman, National Chapter Manager, CAIR
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Executive Director, CAIR Georgia
Jim Sues, Executive Director, CAIR New Jersey
Jacob Bender, Executive Director, CAIR Philadelphia
Zohra Lasania, Program Director, CAIR Pittsburgh
Zahra Billoo, Executive Director, CAIR San Francisco Bay Area
Masih Fouladi, Executive Director, CAIR Washington State
Imraan Siddiqi, Executive Director, CAIR-Arizona
Maira Sheikh, Executive Director, CAIR-Austin
Karen Dabdoub, Executive Director, CAIR-Cincinnati
Faizan Syed, Executive Director, CAIR-Missouri
Jennifer Nimer, Executive Director, CAIR-Ohio, Columbus Chapter
Basim Elkarra, Executive Director, CAIR-Sacramento Valley
Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA-MD
Andrea Williams, Executive Director, CAUSA Oregon
Karen Musalo, Director, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Scot Nakagawa, Senior Partner, Change Lab
Ameer Elnager, Refugee Community Organizer, Church World Service
Svante Myrick, Mayor, City of Ithaca
Angelica Salas, Executive Director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
Nabeeh Hasan, Director, Colorado Muslim Speakers Bureau
Chris Shelton, President, Communications Worker of America
Jay Moseley, Board Chair, Community Alliance of Lane County, Oregon
Dorian Warren, President, Community Change Action
Kuhio Lewis, CEO, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Nihad Awad, National Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Robert McCaw, National Government Affairs Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA)
K. Sabeel Rahman, President, Dēmos
Natalie Foster, Co-chair, Economic Security Project
Rachel La Zar, El Centro, NM
Rev. Alvin Herring, Executive Director, Faith in Action
Musimbi Kanyoro, CEO & President, Global Fund for Women
Grupo de Apoyo e Integración Hispanoamericano
Inhe Choi, Executive Director, HANA Center
Jose Calderon, President, Hispanic Federation
Jonathon Heller, Co-Director, Human Impact Partners
Jay Brown, Acting Senior Vice President, HRC Programs, Research & Trainings, Human Rights Campaign
Rob Berschinski, Senior Vice President, Human Rights First
Zahid Bukhari, Executive Director, ICNA Council for Social Justice (ICNA CSJ)
Eric Cohen, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Angel Padilla, Policy Director, Indivisible
Hassan Jama, Executive Director, Islamic Association of North America
Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director, Islamic Networks Group
Leon Russell, Chair, NAACP
Becky Belcore, Co-Director, NAKASEC
Myron Quon, Executive Director, NAPAFASA
Ilyse Hogue, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Sungyeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
Lauri Ng, Senior Policy Advisor, National CAPACD
Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA)
Lily Eskelsen García, President, National Education Association (NEA)
Saket Soni, Executive Director, National Guestworker Alliance
Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center
Rae Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
Josh Hoyt, Executive Director, National Partnership for New Americans
Stephanie Stephens, Campaign Manager, National Partnership for New Americans
Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
Seham Abdala, Director, NJ Islamic Networks Group
Andrea Dehlendorf, Co Executive Director, OUR Walmart
Caitlin Brune, CEO, Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust
Suzanne Nossel, Chief Executive Officer, PEN America
Sundrop Carter, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
Michael Keegan, President & CEO, People For the American Way
George Goehl, Director, People's Action
Nina Esposito-Visgitis, President, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers
Tarso Luís Ramos, Executive Director, Political Research Associates
Aparna Shah & Luis Sanchez, Co-Executive Directors, Power California
Bob Fulkerson, State Director, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Petra Falcon, Promise Arizona
Glenn Harris, President, Race Forward
Molly Gochman, Founder, Red Sand Project
Iimay Ho, Executive Director, Resource Generation
Stuart Applebaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU)
Mary Kay Henry, International President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Erin Heaney, Co-Director, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Maricela Gutierrez, Executive Director, SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network)
Kathy McShane, Director, Sisters of St. Joseph Welcome Center
Mijo Lee, Executive Director, Social Justice Fund NW
Sunflower Community Action, Somos un Pueblo Unido
Mayra Alvarez, President, The Children’s Partnership
Susan Corke, Fellow, The German Marshall Fund
Vanita Gupta, President & CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Alan Jenkins, President, The Opportunity Agenda
Erendira Rendon, The Resurrection Project
Jillian Barousse, SIREN, Director of Civic Engagement, The Street Trust
Ruth Elder, Founding Member, Thurston Diversity Council
The Rev. Arthur Stevens, Trinity Episcopal Church
Shaunna Thomas, Executive Director, UltraViolet
Adrienne Evans, Executive Director, United Action for Idaho
Arturo Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers
Marc Perrone, International President, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
Leo Gerard, President, United Steelworkers
Fred Redmond, Vice-President, United Steelworkers
Tom Conway, Vice-President, United Steelworkers
Stanley Johnson, Secretary Treasure, United Steelworkers
Adrienne Evans, Executive Director, United Vision for Idaho
Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity
Nancy Nguyen, Executive Director, VietLead
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director, Voces de la Frontera
Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino
Rachel Peric, Executive Director, Welcoming America
Eric K. Ward, Executive Director, Western States Center
Surina Khan, CEO, Women's Foundation of California
Maurice Mitchell, National Director, Working Families Party
David Inoue, Executive Director, Japanese American Citizens League
Sarita Gupta, Co-Executive Director, Jobs with Justice
Erica Smiley, Co-Executive Director, Jobs with Justice
Jonathan Paik, Executive Director, Korean Resource Center
Jonathan Vorasane, Chair, Laotian American National Alliance
Juan Cartagena, President & General Counsel, LatinoJustice
Domingo Garcia, National President, LULAC
Rev. Cedric Harmon, Executive Director, Many Voices: A Black Church Movement for Gay & Transgender (LGBTQ) Justice
Eva Millona, Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Rev. Elder Rachelle Brown, Interim Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches
Andrew Potter, Executive Director, Michigan Corrections Organization
Billy Wimsatt, Movement Voter Project
Anna Galland & Ilya Sheyman, Co-Executive Directors, MoveOn
Linda Sarsour, Executive Director, MPower Change