As members of our school’s Civil Rights Team, we were angry, confused and upset when we learned about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Some of our team members are Jewish, and we have Jewish friends. We are so sad that we, or our friends, feel uncomfortable going to a place where they used to feel safe.
We don’t understand why anyone would commit a hate crime like this. We all deserve happiness and we all have the same needs for food, love, and belonging. We don’t know why anyone would feel they could take those rights away from other people.
A lot of people think discrimination against Jews is over, but it isn’t. People still deny the Holocaust exists. People still make jokes about Jews.
We believe everyone deserves love and respect. We believe targeting people for their religious beliefs is never OK. We believe hatred has no place in our community.
We stand in solidarity with the Tree of Life congregation and with Maine’s Jewish community, and we will speak up when we witness discrimination or hate.
Stephanie Royal
on behalf of Cape Elizabeth Middle School Civil Rights Team
Cape Elizabeth
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.