Decision Makers:
Board of Directors, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond
To First Unitarian Universalist RVA Board of Directors:
As Jewish and non-Jewish community members, we have no objection to your congregation wanting to provide a place for people to grieve Palestinian lives lost in the ensuing war. Palestinian lives have value and their suffering deserves compassion. But choosing October 7—the anniversary of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—as the date for this vigil is profoundly painful and, frankly, difficult to comprehend.
The decision to let Richmonders for Peace in Palestine (RPIP) and Palestine Awareness and Advocacy Group use your space for this event strikes many us as extraordinarily insensitive. (View video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U841q8zE8wUqoN8FaU-bSH5p8q9yoLIa/view?usp=sharing to learn more about these groups.) It would be comparable to holding a prayer gathering on September 11 to grieve the deaths of the terrorists who carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center. Or, closer to home, it would be like holding a gathering on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday to mourn the consequences of African Americans gaining the right to vote.
Two of the UU Principles are to “recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every person” and to “respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” As concerned of Richmond, the scheduling of this event on October 7 leaves us feeling that Jewish and Israeli lives are somehow being treated as less worthy of remembrance, grief, and compassion.
We respectfully ask you to consider how this date affects the Jewish community and whether there is another day on which your congregation could express its compassion for Palestinian suffering without placing that grief directly on the anniversary of an unprecedented Jewish tragedy.
Thank you for your consideration.
15 Comments
Having this vigil on the anniversary of a tragic day for Jewish people in Israel is disrespectful. I am surprised that the Unitarian Universalist Church would plan such an event.
Choosing the date of the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust to hold this vigil is not only insensitive but a slap in the face to the Jewish people. This does not seem in keeping with the values the Unitarian Universalist Church supposedly supports. How cruel and deliberate this feels. There is space for grieving the loss of all innocents without dishonoring, and mocking the deaths of the Israelis who perished at the hands of Hamas. Do the right thing, change the date.
I am dismayed that the UU church is holding a vigil for Palestinians on October 7. For Jews, October 7 is not simply another date on the calendar, it is the anniversary of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, when more than 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds were taken hostage. Acknowledging Palestinian suffering is very important, but doing so on this date without also honoring the Jewish lives lost and the trauma inflicted on the Jewish community feels painful and alienating.
Your church is supposed to be a safe inclusive place for EVERYONE.... This seems like a rather incentive choice to pick a date where more Jews were massacred than anytime since the Holocaust.
This is not only insensitive. It’s sending a very inappropriate message.
There are 365 days in a year and this group chooses October 7 to recognize Palestinian suffering? The day the Palestinians slaughtered, took hostage, raped, beheaded, burned alive, and tortured Israelis and you don’t see this as evil?
October 7 is the anniversary of one of the most horrific attacks on Jews in modern history—the massacre of 1,200+ people, the taking of hostages, and the brutal atrocities committed against innocent civilians. For Jewish people, this date carries enormous grief, trauma, and significance. There are 364 other days of the year on which a vigil for Palestinian lives could be held. Choosing October 7, of all dates, feels particularly painful and deliberately provocative.
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Decision Makers:
Board of Directors, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond
To First Unitarian Universalist RVA Board of Directors:
As Jewish and non-Jewish community members, we have no objection to your congregation wanting to provide a place for people to grieve Palestinian lives lost in the ensuing war. Palestinian lives have value and their suffering deserves compassion. But choosing October 7—the anniversary of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—as the date for this vigil is profoundly painful and, frankly, difficult to comprehend.
The decision to let Richmonders for Peace in Palestine (RPIP) and Palestine Awareness and Advocacy Group use your space for this event strikes many us as extraordinarily insensitive. (View video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U841q8zE8wUqoN8FaU-bSH5p8q9yoLIa/view?usp=sharing to learn more about these groups.) It would be comparable to holding a prayer gathering on September 11 to grieve the deaths of the terrorists who carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center. Or, closer to home, it would be like holding a gathering on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday to mourn the consequences of African Americans gaining the right to vote.
Two of the UU Principles are to “recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every person” and to “respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” As concerned of Richmond, the scheduling of this event on October 7 leaves us feeling that Jewish and Israeli lives are somehow being treated as less worthy of remembrance, grief, and compassion.
We respectfully ask you to consider how this date affects the Jewish community and whether there is another day on which your congregation could express its compassion for Palestinian suffering without placing that grief directly on the anniversary of an unprecedented Jewish tragedy.
Thank you for your consideration.
15 Comments
It’SA day that was purposely chosen to be cruel. It is immoral, please allow some dignity in this country to not allow this!
Having this vigil on the anniversary of a tragic day for Jewish people in Israel is disrespectful. I am surprised that the Unitarian Universalist Church would plan such an event.
Choosing the date of the largest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust to hold this vigil is not only insensitive but a slap in the face to the Jewish people. This does not seem in keeping with the values the Unitarian Universalist Church supposedly supports. How cruel and deliberate this feels. There is space for grieving the loss of all innocents without dishonoring, and mocking the deaths of the Israelis who perished at the hands of Hamas. Do the right thing, change the date.
I am dismayed that the UU church is holding a vigil for Palestinians on October 7. For Jews, October 7 is not simply another date on the calendar, it is the anniversary of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, when more than 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds were taken hostage. Acknowledging Palestinian suffering is very important, but doing so on this date without also honoring the Jewish lives lost and the trauma inflicted on the Jewish community feels painful and alienating.
Your church is supposed to be a safe inclusive place for EVERYONE.... This seems like a rather incentive choice to pick a date where more Jews were massacred than anytime since the Holocaust.
This is not only insensitive. It’s sending a very inappropriate message.
There are 365 days in a year and this group chooses October 7 to recognize Palestinian suffering? The day the Palestinians slaughtered, took hostage, raped, beheaded, burned alive, and tortured Israelis and you don’t see this as evil?
October 7 is the anniversary of one of the most horrific attacks on Jews in modern history—the massacre of 1,200+ people, the taking of hostages, and the brutal atrocities committed against innocent civilians. For Jewish people, this date carries enormous grief, trauma, and significance. There are 364 other days of the year on which a vigil for Palestinian lives could be held. Choosing October 7, of all dates, feels particularly painful and deliberately provocative.
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It’SA day that was purposely chosen to be cruel. It is immoral, please allow some dignity in this country to not allow this!